Better, But Not Good Enough: National Climate Pledges

Paris, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Oct, 2021 ) :Six years ago, nearly every country in the world set targets for reducing their carbon emissions -- but the sum total of their pledges fell far short of what was needed to keep the planet from dangerously overheating.

That first raft of "nationally determined contributions" (NDCs) -- many conditioned on financing and technical support -- under the 2015 Paris Agreement would have seen Earth heat up three to four degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The treaty called for a cap of "well below" 2C.

And following a landmark 2018 UN climate science report that warned of dire impacts even at 2C, Paris' aspirational 1.5C limit has become the de facto target.

Under the deal's "ratchet" mechanism, signatories review and renew their emission-cutting plans every five years.

Most countries have done so since late 2020, but a new tally still puts the world on course toward "catastrophic" warming of 2.7C by 2100, according to the UN.