Ahead of COP28, three UNEP reports paint a grim picture of climate reality

Subject : IR

Section: Reports and Indices

Context:

The leading theme of COP28 to the UNFCCC is ‘Global Stocktake’, which means the focus will be on checking what each country has done in terms of climate action vis-à-vis its promise.
Three recent reports put out by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) show that the global collective action on climate action is woefully inadequate compared with what it ought to be.

The three reports published by UNEP are:

Emissions Gap Report of 2023
- The global emissions of greenhouse gases will increase by 3 per cent in 2030 when they ought to decrease by 28 per cent if the rise in global warming is to be limited to 2 degrees and 42 per cent for the ambition of 5 degrees.
Production Gap Report 2023
- The governments plan to produce around 110 per cent more fossil fuels in 2030, which would be consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C and 69 per cent more for the 2°C target.
Adaptation Gap Report 2023
- The adaptation finance needs of developing countries are 10–18 times as big as international public finance flows. Developing countries will need adaptation financing of $387 billion a year. In contrast, they got $21 billion in 2021.