Emissions Gap Report 2022

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The report was released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Key Findings

• Current pledges by countries for reducing greenhouse gas emissions would still leave the world warmer by 2.4-2.6 degrees celsius by the end of the century.
• This will increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.
• It would also mean that many of the climate-tipping elements, essential atmospheric, oceanic and ecosystems responsible for maintaining life on Earth would cross their tipping points and push the planet into a never-before-seen environment.
• The report found that the updated pledges by countries, also known as nationally determined contributions (NDC) under the Paris Agreement, only reduce the projected greenhouse emissions by 1 per cent by 2030.
• The world is falling short of the goals set forth in the Paris Climate Agreement adopted in 2015.
• No credible pathway is currently in place to restrict global warming to under 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
• The top seven emitters (China, the EU27, India, Indonesia, Brazil, the Russian Federation and the United States of America) plus international transport accounted for 55 percent of global GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions in 2020.
• In India and six other top emitters, emissions have rebounded in 2021, exceeding pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
• Collectively, G20 members are responsible for 75 percent of global GHG emissions.
• The global average per capita GHG emissions was 6.3 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) in 2020.
• The report finds that the world must cut emissions by 45 percent to avoid global catastrophe.

About the report

• This is the 13th edition of the Report.
• Title: ‘The Closing Window — Climate Crisis Calls for Rapid Transformation of Societies’
• An overview of the difference between where greenhouse emissions are predicted to be in 2030 and where they should be to avert the worst impacts of climate change.