In light of the “Global Stocktake” findings, the world has witnessed unprecedented global temperature spikes in the last 120,000 years as of 2023. This rise in global temperatures has prompted the need for accountability and action from international governments and policymakers.
The urgency to address climate change has led to international agreements and initiatives to transition to renewable energy sources, implement sustainable practices, and foster global cooperation to combat this critical issue.
One of these actions is taking stock of countries’ and stakeholders’ collective action toward reaching the Paris Agreement’s goals. On September 8, the UN delivered a comprehensive global climate action report card analysis. This technical report includes a detailed assessment of progress and identifies areas where additional effort is required.
The main objective of the Paris Agreement ( a legally binding international treaty on climate change) is to consolidate global action against climate change by keeping the global temperature rise in the coming decades well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to maintain efforts to restrict the temperature increase even further to 1.5 °C.
However, current global climate actions fall short of limiting global warming to less than 1.5 °C.
The Paris Agreement had called for transparency of action from member countries to track progress towards achieving individual countries’ nationally determined contributions and adaptation practices to facilitate inventory taking and inform the Global Stocktake.
Global Stocktake
The Global Stocktake is a multilateral process that evaluates the implementation of the Paris Agreement. It is a process of assessing the global response to the climate crisis every five years.
This process takes place over two years and is intended to be finalised during this year’s UN climate conference, COP28, in Dubai. According to the UN, the global Stocktake is essential to ensuring this is the decade for climate action.
The Paris Agreement defines global goals, but it is up to each country to determine its national targets and policies to achieve the general objectives of the Agreement. Therefore, The Paris Agreement stipulated that governments should evaluate their progress in 2023 and every five years after that.
The world’s first Stocktake on climate change is a multi-phase participatory process that begins with data collection and preparation, technical evaluation and ends with the consideration of findings at the climate conference in Dubai scheduled for December.
The Stocktake is critical to accelerating global climate action. The report will influence forum – a high-level political undertaking- discussions and may help clear how much more governments must do to achieve effective action.
Over the last two years, UNFCCC experts have called on member countries to provide detailed data on their implemented actions. They also interviewed scientists and members of civil society and drew on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sixth assessment report.
Why is it Important?
Findings
The 40-plus page document discusses 17 significant findings, identifying success and areas requiring attention. The global temperatures are expected to rise by 2.4-2.6 °C by 2100, a significant decrease from 2010s projections of 3.7-4.8 °C by the end of the century.
Even so, the report highlights a persistent “emissions gap,” pointing out that the present climate commitments are not aligned with the mechanisms required to achieve the global goal.
Despite collective progress, the world is not on track to meet the long-term goals outlined in the Paris Agreement and the time to ensure a liveable and sustainable future for all is rapidly closing.
Most identified adaptation efforts are fragmented, gradual, sector-specific, and unequally distributed across regions. The report urges for increasing renewable energy while phasing out all unabated fossil fuels, stopping deforestation, limiting non-CO2 emissions, and implementing supply- and demand-side measures.
So far, the globe has warmed by around 1.2 °C, necessitating a 43 per cent reduction in global emissions by 2030 to limit warming to 1.5 °C. In order to achieve the long-term objectives of the Paris Agreement, more action is required right away on all fronts and by all parties.
Response
An article by Christiana Figueres, in response to GST’s urging to phase out fossil fuels, points out how governments are evasive about fossil fuels. Christiana Figueres was instrumental in bringing the historic Paris Climate Agreement to fruition in 2015. She recently argued for the omission of fossil fuel companies from COP28. “If they are going to be there only to be obstructors, and only to put spanners into the system, they should not be there,” as quoted by the Guardian.
The former Executive Secretary of UNFCCC has been vocal in the past against the industry’s unwillingness to adapt to renewable energy and end the production of fossil fuels, even pointing out the intimidation of actors who are taking up environmental, social, and governance responsibilities calling for more accountability by powerful governments.
“With few shining exceptions, governments around the world continue to prevaricate. Policies to prevent new oil and gas investments should have been on the table since the International Energy Agency mandated their end in 2021,” Figueres bluntly addressed the GST report.
An expert from What to do about Climate’s Front Page Paradox? by Christiana Figueres
Africa
A report on the climate in Africa said Africa is warming faster than the rest of the world and experiencing increasingly severe climate and weather disasters, such as the Horn of Africa’s worst drought and Algerian wildfires.
The continent faces disproportionate impacts from climate change, although Africa contributes only a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions. This threatens food security, ecosystems and economies, fueling displacement and migration and worsening the threat of conflict over dwindling resources.
According to an analysis study on Africa’s engagement, Africa’s participation in the GST processes remains weak due to a lack of capacity to engage, insufficient manpower, and expertise.
According to the report, despite the shown progress in forming national institutions and conducting consultations on climate policy, discussions on climate policy are not frequent, and the implications of GST findings are not always grasped. African countries’ participation in international initiatives to improve climate action is minimal, and Africa has not been driving the agenda.
The lack of climate funding is Africa’s most significant obstacle to climate action and adaptation. It currently only receives approximately 12% of the nearly $300 billion in annual funding it requires.
The continent is rich in renewable energy sources, but finance is problematic. Only three days before the GST report was released, leaders at the African Climate Summit demanded accountability from the world’s wealthy countries.
And, as we approach COP28, one paradox arises: will the climate finance issue finally be resolved? Climate finance is not the only obstacle. The resolution of the climate finance issue is crucial for the successful transition of Africa to renewable energy and the overall fight against climate change.
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