<
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/12/09/carbon-footprints-climate-change-rich-one-percent/>
"The world’s wealthy will need to reduce their carbon footprints by a
factor of 30 to help put the planet on a path to curb the ever-worsening
impacts of climate change, according to new findings published Wednesday
by the United Nations Environment Program.
Currently, the emissions attributable to the richest 1 percent of the
global population account for more than double those of the poorest 50
percent. Shifting that balance, researchers found, will require swift
and substantial lifestyle changes, including decreases in air travel, a
rapid embrace of renewable energy and electric vehicles, and better
public planning to encourage walking, bicycle riding and public transit.
But individual choices are hardly the only key to mitigating the
intensifying consequences of climate change.
Wednesday’s annual “emissions gap” report, which assesses the difference
between the world’s current path and measures needed to manage climate
change, details how the world remains woefully off target in its quest
to slow the Earth’s warming. The drop in greenhouse gas emissions during
this year’s pandemic, while notable, will have almost no impact on
slowing the warming that lies ahead unless humankind drastically alters
its policies and behavior, the report finds.
Instead, nations would need to “roughly triple” their current
emissions-cutting pledges to limit the Earth’s warming to “well below” 2
degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the preindustrial average
— a central aim of the Paris climate agreement. To reach the loftier
goal of holding warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit),
the report found, countries would need to increase their targets at
least fivefold. That goal in particular would require rapid and profound
changes in how societies travel, produce electricity and eat."
Via John Hummel.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
