UN calls for
immediate
international
action to close
emissions gap
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report 2013
concludes that immediate international action is
needed to close the gap between international
emission targets for 2020, and the emissions
reductions that would be achieved if individual
countries meet their pledges and commitments
fully. This is referred to as the “emissions gap”.
The ultimate objective for parties to the Climate Convention is to stabilize greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that
would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. This objective
has been translated in a concrete target: “Limiting the increase in global average temperature
to 2° C compared to pre-industrial levels”. In
order to reach this target, the parties to the
convention have made their own pledges and
commitments to reducing their emissions by
2020. However, the UNEP report shows that
these pledges and commitments, even if fully met, would not be sufficient to achieve the
overall target. Urgent action is required.
A failure to act means the world will still
be principally reliant on a fossil fuel-based infrastructure and energy saving opportunities
will have been lost. Therefore, the UNEP calls
on the agricultural, building and transportation
sectors and international corporate activities in
particular, to take action to close this gap, for
example by using less fossil fuels.
The positive effect of taking action now is
that there will be huge cost savings in the future
Enhesa Flash Nov/Dec 2013
for industry and large-scale emitters. Indeed,
they will not have to use unproven technologies
such as bio-energy with carbon capture and
storage in the medium term in order to reduce
their emissions.
Commissioner Hedegaard from the DG
Climate Action, who was present at the launch
of the UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report,
added that politicians should look
at the long-term effects of not closing
the gap and take this
into account when
developing their policies. He also pointed out that costs will
increase when measures are taken at a
later stage and that polluters should be made
to pay. In addition, States should not wait for
each other to take action, but take direct action to close the gap. Finally he stressed that
developing states should be more proactive as
they are responsible for 60% of the worldwide
emissions while the EU is only responsible for
11% of the worldwide emissions.
Based