According to an international study, the G-20 states continue to do too little to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. The greenhouse gas emissions of the 19 industrialized and emerging countries and the European Union continue to rise, according to the „Brown to Green“ report published today by the Climate Transparency network – three weeks before the start of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Madrid. According to this report, emissions increased by 1.8 percent last year.
The G-20’s leading industrial and emerging economies account for 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. The scientists and environmentalists also have an optimistic message: About half of the G-20, including the EU, is expected to exceed its previous, self-imposed climate goals. This would allow them to come up with new, more ambitious targets in 2020, as foreseen in the Paris Climate Agreement.
In the agreement, almost all countries in the world have decided to limit global warming to well below two degrees compared to pre-industrial times – many states and experts believe that the 1.5 degree target is necessary. By just one degree, the earth has already warmed up. If states only fulfill their current climate protection commitments, climatologists predict that by the end of the century it will be three degrees – with catastrophic consequences for glaciers and polar ice, coral reefs, biodiversity – and also for humanity.
