Page 4 - AsiaElec Week 49

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec

UN calls for green investment

to meet UN targets

Investing in green economic stimulus packages could reduce 2030 emissions by 25%,
thereby making the Paris Agreement 2°C goal a possibility, writes Richard Lockhart

GLOBAL GOVERNMENTS could reduce predicted 2030 generation.
CO2 emissions by up to 25% if they prioritise However, this dip only translates to a 0.01°C
WHAT: renewables in their post-coronavirus (COVID- reduction of global warming by 2050. Mean-
Governments could 19) economic stimulus packages. while, NDCs remain inadequate, the report
reduce predicted 2030 The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) warned.
CO2 emissions by up to said this week that such a reduction in emissions Environmentalists welcomed the gloomy
25% if they invest in a could help the world meet the 2°C goal of the report, calling for more to be done to reduce
green pandemic recovery Paris Agreement on Climate Change. emissions.
The UNEP warned in its annual Emissions “Yes, this year the emissions gap appears to be
WHY: Gap Report 2020 that more investment in narrowing but it’s still a report card you would
The 7% dip in emissions renewables was needed, otherwise temperatures be embarrassed to show your children. We need,
predicted for 2020 is would rise in excess of 3°C this century. right now, to limit runaway global heating to
not enough to arrest the To keep the planet’s temperature change 1.5°C as a matter of equal survival for everyone
10-year trend of rising below 2°C, governments need to invest in cli- on the planet,” said Greenpeace International
emissions mate action and to solidify nascent net-zero Executive Director Jennifer Morgan.
commitments. She called on governments to do more to
WHAT NEXT: Indeed, governments must strengthen their address the climate emergency.
The UN report identified existing pledges, known as Nationally Deter- “The growing climate and social justice
shipping, aviation and mined Contributions (NDCs), by the COP26 movements demand that governments not just
consumer behaviour as meeting in Glasgow in November 2021. eventually close the gap, but prove to all of us
key areas that need more The report also said that to meet the more that they are, at this moment, doing everything
investment in reducing ambitious 1.5°C goal, governments must com- in their power to tackle the unfolding climate
emissions bine a green pandemic recovery with swift emergency,” she added.
moves to include new net-zero commitments in
their NDCs. To achieve this, they must carry out Green recovery critical
more rapid, stronger action to reduce emissions. The report details that a green pandemic recov-
“The year 2020 is on course to be one of the ery has the potential to reduce 2030 emissions to
warmest on record, while wildfires, storms and 44 GtCO2e. This compares with the predicted
droughts continue to wreak havoc,” said Inger figure of 59 GtCO2e, which would reflect gov-
Andersen, UNEP’s Executive Director. ernment emissions policies in place before
“However, UNEP’s Emissions Gap report COVID-19.
shows that a green pandemic recovery can take The UNEP said the current NDCs would
a huge slice out of greenhouse gas [GHG] emis- leave the world on track for a 3.2°C temperature
sions and help slow climate change. I urge gov- rise, while a green recovery would put emissions
ernments to back a green recovery in the next within the range that gives a 66% chance of
stage of COVID-19 fiscal interventions and raise holding temperatures to below 2°C, but would
significantly their climate ambitions in 2021.” still be insufficient to achieve the 1.5°C goal.
A green recovery would mean governments
Rising emissions prioritising direct fiscal support for zero-emis-
The warning comes against the background of sions technologies and infrastructure, reducing
continually rising emissions, with an increase fossil fuel subsidies, supporting no new coal
of 26% in 2019 and an average of 1.4% per year plants and promoting nature-based solutions –
since 2010. including large-scale landscape restoration and
In 2019, total GHG emissions, including reforestation.
land-use change, reached a new high of 59.1 The report found that action among major
gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent (GtCO2e). industrialised economies to promote a green
For 2020, the report estimates that emissions fiscal recovery has been limited.
will fall by up to 7% as a result of reduced travel, Only a quarter of G20 members have dedi-
lower industrial activity and lower electricity cated shares of their investment spending, up to

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 49 09•December•2020