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A28 SCIENCE
Friday 29 November 2019

U.N.: 'Quick wins' needed to keep climate goals within reach

Associated Press 2030, UNEP said.
GENEVA (AP) — Countries That currently seems un-
need to begin making likely.
steep cuts to their green- At present, national pledg-
house gas emissions im- es would leave the world
mediately or risk missing 3.2 degrees Celsius (5.8
the targets they've agreed Fahrenheit) warmer by
for limiting global warm- 2100 than pre-industrial
ing, with potentially dire times, with dramatic con-
consequences, senior Unit- sequences for life on Earth,
ed Nations officials said the U.N. agency said. Get-
Tuesday.A report by the ting the world back on
U.N. Environment Program, track to 1.5C would require
published days before gov- a fivefold increase in mea-
ernments gather in Madrid sures pledged so far, it cal-
for an annual meeting on culated.
climate change, showed Last week, UNEP published
the amount of planet-heat- a separate report, which
ing gases being pumped found that countries are
into the atmosphere hitting planning to extract more
a new high last year, de- than twice the amount of
spite a near-global pledge fossil fuels from the ground
to reduce them. than can be burned in 2030
Man-made greenhouse if the 1.5C target is to be
gas emissions rose in 2018 In this Friday, Sept. 6, 2019 file photo, commuters make their way along an expressway during rush met.
to 55.3 billion metric tons of hour in Beijing. This includes countries such
carbon dioxide, according Associated Press as Norway, which touts its
to the U.N.'s annual 'emis- green credentials while it
sions gap' report. While dersen. "We need to catch gases will have to drop by really that emissions need continues to drill for oil in
much of the increase came up on the years in which 7.6% each year in the com- to go down by 55 percent the North Sea.
from emerging economies we procrastinated." ing decade, the agency by 2030," said John Chris- Officials appealed to gov-
such as China and India, To stop average global said. Scientists say the 1.5C tensen, lead author and ernments that have al-
some of those emissions are temperatures from in- target — contained in the director of the UNEP-Danish ready laid out targets for
the result of manufacturing creasing by more than 1.5 2015 Paris climate accord Technology Institute Part- reducing their emissions to
outsourced from devel- degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahr- — would avert some of the nership. see if they can do more,
oped countries. enheit) this century com- more extreme changes in Even the less ambitious goal and insisted that industries
"We need quick wins to re- pared with pre-industrial global weather patterns of capping global warm- like power, transport, build-
duce emissions as much as times, worldwide emissions predicted if temperatures ing at 2C (3.6 F) would re- ing and shipping can find
possible in 2020," said the of carbon dioxide, meth- rise further. quire annual emissions cuts opportunities to lower their
agency's chief, Inger An- ane and other greenhouse "What we are looking at is of 2.7% between 2020 and emissions too.q

European Space Agency gets more

funds, also for Moon mission

MADRID (AP) — The 22 ambitious projects." vanced set of Earth obser-
member states of the Eu- Woerner said that "climate vation satellites flying, so
ropean Space agency change is a strong driver" everyone in every industry
pledged Thursday to boost in a bigger-than-expected wants to be involved in
their funding to support funding boost for Europe's developing the top tech-
more missions and research Copernicus Earth-observa- nology because this is a
projects, including a new tion satellites. place where European
generation of satellites to "Copernicus is now the companies can get ahead
monitor climate change. world's leading Earth-ob- of companies in the rest of
The agency's director-gen- servation project," he said. the world," Duque said.
Kjetil Wormnes, automation and robotics system engineer, pos-
es with the Space Rover after a training exercise of the Euro- eral, Jan Woerner, said at "This shows all the support Other missions getting
pean Space Agency, ESA, in Katwijk, near The Hague, Nether- the conclusion two-day for an awareness of our backing included sending
lands, Monday, Nov. 25, 2019. ministerial meeting in Se- planet, and I think it is good the first European astronaut
Associated Press ville, Spain, that member because taxpayers are to the Moon, the building of
states pledged a record asking (governments) to a space shuttle and parts
three-year budget of 12.5 do something and you can of a planned lunar space
billion euros ($13.7 million) only do something if you station, researching black
plus an additional 1.9 billion know what to do." holes, and safety projects
euros to cover operational Spain's Science Minister to remove space debris
costs and basic research in Pedro Duque added that and detect asteroids.Ger-
years four and five. climate research is also many will be largest single
"14.4 billion euros. For me where industry wants to be. funder, with 22.9 percent of
it is surprise. It is even more Madrid is hosting the Unit- the total.
than I proposed," said Wo- ed Nations global climate "For me, this ministerial
erner. meeting from Dec. 2-13. (meeting) has one very
"We have taken on some "We have the most ad- clear message. q