World's emissions gap is 'more like emissions canyon': UN chief

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Despite a recent climate change report that shows the world is set to get warmer by nearly 3C (5.4F), UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday that "it is possible to make the 1.5 degree limit a reality."

"Today’s Emissions Gap report shows that if nothing changes, in 2030, emissions will be 22 Gigatonnes higher than the 1.5 degree-limit will allow. That's roughly the total present annual emissions of the USA, China and the EU combined.”

"Present trends are racing our planet down a dead-end three-degree temperature rise. In short, the report shows that the emissions gap is more like an emissions canyon," Guterres said at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report launch.

According to the report, the world is on pace to warm by as much as 2.9C (5.2F) by the end of the century with the current climate policies of countries.

"We know it is still possible to make the 1.5 degree limit a reality,” Guterres said.

"It requires tearing out the poisoned root of the climate crisis: fossil fuels. And it demands a just, equitable renewables transition.”

The United Arab Emirates is set to host this year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) between Nov. 30 and Dec. 12, with the aim of keeping the Paris Agreement warming target of 1.5C (2.7F) alive.

"We must reverse course, and as we have seen in this report, the crucial aspect is the eviction of fossil fuels. So it is time to establish a clear phase-out with a time limit linked to the 1.5 degrees and it’s time to be determined in pursuing that phase-down policy,” Guterres said.

"And I hope that governments will understand it and I hope that there will be a clear signal from this COP that we must head in that direction.”