Emissions Gap Report 2022: UNEP
Ahead of COP27, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released a report titled ‘Emissions Gap Report 2022: The Closing Window — Climate Crisis Calls for Rapid Transformation of Societies’.
- This is the 13th edition of the UNEP Emissions Gap Report. It assesses the gap between anticipated emissions in 2030 and levels consistent with the 1.5°C and 2°C targets of the Paris Agreement. Every year, the report features ways to bridge the gap.
Findings:
- The top 7 emitters (China, the EU27, India, Indonesia, Brazil, the Russian Federation and the United States of America) plus international transport accounted for 55% of global GHG emissions in 2020.
- For these countries GHG emissions rebounded in 2021, exceeding pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
- Collectively, G20 members are responsible for 75% of global GHG (Greenhouse Gas Emission) emissions.
- The global average per capita GHG emissions was 6.3 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) in 2020.
- India remains far below the world average at 2.4 tCO2e.
- World is falling short of the goals set forth in the Paris Climate Agreement adopted in 2015, with no credible pathway to 1.5°C in place.
- The Paris Agreement defined a global warming limit of 2°C above pre-industrial levels (preferably 1.5°C), which if exceeded, can result in extreme weather events such as extreme heat waves, droughts, water stress, etc.
- National pledges since COP26 (Glasgow, UK) make a negligible difference to predict 2030 emissions.
