The climate pledges made at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference or the COP26 summit in Glasgow will limit the global average increase in temperatures to under 2 degrees Celsius. A new analysis of the climate pledges made at the COP26 has found that peak increase in temperature will be limited to 1.9 degrees Celsius. However, limiting temperatures to below 1.5 degrees Celsius would still require immediate action.
“It’s the first time that governments have come forward with specific targets that can hold global warming to below the symbolic 2C level,” said Christophe McGlade at the International Energy Agency, a member of the team behind the study.
But the pledges need to be implemented fully and within the time frame provided, and support must be provided to low-income and middle-income nations to achieve their own goals. Without any action, the climate policies in place would lead to a peak temperature of 2.6 degrees Celsius, which could drastically change the climate around the world.
“These results are clearly a cause for optimism. We’ve come a long way since the Paris agreement was signed back in 2015. But now the real work has to start. The pledges have not yet been backed up by the strong and credible near-term policies needed to make them a reality,” McGlade added.
Though scientists say that while the commitments are welcome historic milestones, much needs to be done to keep the world under the ideal 1.5 degrees Celsius target. Immediate action will be needed to make sure that emissions are reduced to keep on track with that target.
If the world misses the 1.5 degrees Celsius target, then it would rely on massive improvements in carbon sequestration technology and massive afforestation. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has stated that the world would need to cut its emissions by 45 percent by 2030 to keep temperature increase below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
