An Essential Strategy

摘要

An evaluation of current trends and country commitments by the United Nations Environment Program, the "Emissions Gap Report 2017" estimates that only about a third of the necessary reductions to realize the Paris Agreement's temperature goals have been pledged. "The gap between the reductions needed and the national pledges made in Paris is alarmingly high," the report concludes. Reductions must be achieved quickly due to the long atmospheric lifetime of carbon dioxide. Thus, "If the emissions gap is not closed by 2030, it is extremely unlikely that the goal of holding global warming to well below 2°C can still be reached."