To meet the 2015 Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, every sector must accelerate far-reaching efforts to achieve net zero carbon emissions at a far faster pace than recent trends, a report from the World Resources Institute's Systems Change Lab warns.

According to the report, State of Climate Action 2021: Systems Transformations Required to Limit Global Warming to 1.5°C (249 pages, PDF), the transformations required to avoid the worst climate impacts span changes in power generation, buildings, industry, transportation, land use, coastal zone management, and agriculture, as well as the immediate scaling of carbon removal technology and climate finance. The report outlines forty targets for 2030 and 2050, with measurable indicators, as well as the necessary underlying conditions, including supportive policies, innovations, strong institutions, leadership, and shifts in social norms.

A joint effort of the High-Level Climate Champions, Climate Action Tracker, ClimateWorks Foundation, Bezos Earth Fund, and WRI, with additional support from the Center for Global Commons, Global Commons Alliance, Global Environment Facility, and Laudes Foundation, the report found that, of the forty indicators assessed, none are on track to reach 2030 targets. Eight of the indicators are moving in the right direction at a promising but insufficient rate; seventeen are headed in the right direction but at a rate well below the required pace; and three have seen progress stagnate. Three indicators are moving in the wrong direction entirely, while data were insufficient to evaluate the remaining nine. To get on track for the emission cuts and carbon removal required by 2030, the report's authors argue, the world needs to phase out unabated coal in electricity generation five times faster, accelerate the increase in annual gross tree cover gain three times faster, increase the share of low-emission fuels twelve times faster, restore coastal wetlands nearly three times faster, and expand climate finance thirteen times faster.

The study also notes that climate change is exacerbating poverty and inequality, that transformations to mitigate climate change also offer opportunities to create a more equal world, and that to realize those benefits, policies must be designed to ensure equity and a just transition that addresses the challenges faced by workers and communities whose livelihoods are tied to high-carbon industries.

"Shifting the world off its addiction to coal not only benefits the climate, but also the health of communities living near both coal-fired power plants and coal mines," said Climate Analytics CEO Bill Hare. "We have the technology for the majority of these areas to decarbonize. What we need is political will, and for governments to catch up with the opportunity this transition will bring for their economies."

"Humanity is only just waking up to its ability to drive genuine systemic change," said Nigel Topping, UN high level climate champion for COP26. "We have the capacity to radically scale up climate action through the exponential growth in disruptive technologies — if we agree to do what it takes and put the right policies and finance in place fast to deliver a healthier, cleaner zero-carbon world in time."

(Photo credit: NRDC)
Source: PND