(MENAFN) The world is expected to rise by about 3C (5.4F) according to a recent climate change report, but UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated on Monday that "it is possible to make the 1.5 degree limit a reality."
"Today’s Emissions Gap report shows that if nothing changes, in 2030, emissions will be 22 Gigatonnes higher than the 1.5 degree-limit will allow. That's roughly the total present annual emissions of the USA, China and the EU combined.”
Guterres stated at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report launch that, "present trends are racing our planet down a dead-end three-degree temperature rise. In short, the report shows that the emissions gap is more like an emissions canyon."
As indicated in the report, under the current climate policies of various nations, the world is projected to experience a temperature increase of up to 2.9 degrees Celsius (5.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century.
"We know it is still possible to make the 1.5 degree limit a reality,” Guterres declared.
"It requires tearing out the poisoned root of the climate crisis: fossil fuels. And it demands a just, equitable renewables transition.”
The United Arab Emirates is scheduled to host this year's UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) from November 30 to December 12. The primary objective of the conference is to work towards maintaining the Paris Agreement's warming target of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).
"We must reverse course, and as we have seen in this report, the crucial aspect is the eviction of fossil fuels. So it is time to establish a clear phase-out with a time limit linked to the 1.5 degrees and it’s time to be determined in pursuing that phase-down policy,” he added.
"And I hope that governments will understand it and I hope that there will be a clear signal from this COP that we must head in that direction.”
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