Paris [France], September 27: The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is only achievable with a rapid acceleration of climate protection efforts and international cooperation.
The Paris-based watchdog said in a report on Tuesday that to stay on track, almost all countries would have to bring forward their target dates for climate neutrality or net zero, whereby emissions are balanced out by carbon dioxide removal.
"Keeping alive the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius requires the world to come together quickly. The good news is we know what we need to do - and how to do it," said IEA executive director FatihBirol. "But we also have a very clear message: Strong international cooperation is crucial to success. Governments need to separate climate from geopolitics, given the scale of the challenge at hand." A faster pace of climate action in industrialized countries could give emerging and developing countries more time to act, the report added, saying significantly more investment in climate protection is needed in poorer nations.
If climate protection measures are not accelerated and implemented as planned by 2030, massive reliance will have to be placed on CO2 storage to achieve the 1.5 degrees Celsius target set by the international community in Paris in 2015, the IEA said.
However, technologies for this are expensive and still untested on a large scale. According to the United Nations, the Earth is heading for more than 2.5 degrees Celsius of global warming on current trends.
Source: Qatar Tribune