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Copenhagen Pledges Not Enough to Prevent Global Warming
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The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released its latest report on global warming last February 23, 2010. The UNEP report, which contains forecast models compiled from nine research groups, revealed that the pledges to cut emissions by the different nations involved in the Copenhagen Accord are not enough to prevent temperatures from rising by 2˚Celsius or more. UNEP is calling for more ambitious actions from countries all over the world in cutting down carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases to prevent this probable catastrophe.
UNEP Forecasts
According to the latest model of UNEP, annual emissions should not exceed 40 to 48.3 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide and should peak between the years 2015 to 2021. The experts that worked on the model have also suggested that the world should cut greenhouse gas emissions by 48% to 72% between 2020 and 2050 in order to get a 50-50 chance of preventing the global climate from rising to intolerable levels.
The Deep Impact
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other scientists previously revealed that the rise in global temperatures by 2˚Celsius and above the pre-industrial levels will prove to be catastrophic. Sea levels would go up, snow and ice would melt across the globe at alarming levels, and this would sink several small island states, such as the Maldives islands and Bangladesh. One-third of all species in the world would face the risk of rapid extinction. Humanity would suffer from more frequent floods, especially countries with land surface that is barely above the sea level. Millions of people would suffer from loss of food and shelter caused by the natural calamities the world will be experiencing more frequently.
A Call for Action
According to Achim Steiner, UNEP’s executive director, the pledges in the Copenhagen Accord are not enough to prevent this catastrophe. He said that given this forecast, countries should now be motivated to take extra steps to cut down on emissions.
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