UN: new climate targets would cut only 6% of emissions by 2035
Days before COP31, a UN climate convention assessment shows national commitments are far from the 60% needed to limit warming to 1.5°C.
Translated from the Portuguese original by the Panorama newsroom. Read in Portuguese
Summary written by the Panorama newsroom from the sources listed below. Facts are attributed to the original publications.
On the eve of COP31, the UN released an assessment on October 27 showing the size of the gap between pledges and need. According to g1, the new national targets would reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by only 6% by 2035.
The figure is about ten times smaller than what is needed to hold warming to 1.5°C, a scenario in which the cut would have to be roughly 60%. The analysis, by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, considered 127 new targets submitted between January 2024 and August 2026.
If current commitments are kept, the planet's average temperature could rise by up to 3.2°C by 2100. If long-term targets are also met, warming would be between 1.7°C and 2.3°C.
Countries are expected to emit 368 billion tons of CO₂ between 2026 and 2035, a volume almost three times the limit consistent with the 1.5°C goal.
There are signs of progress in the energy transition: the share of countries planning energy storage systems rose from 33% to 56%. COP31 will be held from November 9 to 20 in Antalya, Turkey.