UN: Net zero pledges on climate give hope, but still vague
ABC News
A United Nations agency reports that fresh pledges by governments to cut greenhouse gas emissions raise hopes but aren’t strict enough to avoid catastrophic global warming
BERLIN -- The United Nations reported Tuesday that fresh pledges by governments to cut greenhouse gas emissions raise hopes but aren't strict enough to avoid catastrophic global warming.
A report by the U.N. Environment Programme found recent announcements by dozens of countries to aim for “net-zero” emissions by 2050 could limit a global temperature rise to 2.2 degrees Celsius (4 F) by the end of the century.
That's close to the less stringent target set in the Paris climate accord of capping global warming at 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) by the end of the century but far from the agreement's most ambitious goal of keeping it to 1.5 degrees Celsius C (2.7 F).
The United States, the European Union and dozens of other countries have set net-zero emissions targets. However, the Environment Programme report said the net-zero goals that many governments announced in the run-up to a U.N. climate summit in Glasgow next week remain vague, with much of the heavy-lifting on emissions cuts pushed beyond 2030.
