The Climate Transparency Report 2021
Recently the ‘Climate Transparency Report 2021’ was released which states that ‘the targets set by most of the G20 countries are not enough to limit global warming to 1.50 degrees Celsius’.
This report presents an annual review of the G20 countries’ climate action and their progress towards becoming a net-zero emissions economy.
Net-zero emissions are also commonly referred to as carbon neutrality. This situation is achieved by balancing the emissions of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere by anthropogenic neutralization over a given period.
Key findings of the report
- CO2 emissions of G20 countries (responsible for 75% of global GHGs) are projected to increase by 4% in 2021 after a 6% decline in 2020.
- Emissions from Argentina, China, India and Indonesia are projected to increase compared to 2019 emissions levels.
- Despite achieving new records of installed capacity in solar and wind power in the G20, the dependence of these countries on fossil fuels has not decreased.
- Coal consumption is projected to increase by around 5% this year, mainly due to demand from China, the US and India.
- India’s per capita GHG emissions (2.1 +CO2/per capita) are lower than the G20 average (7.5 +CO2/capita).
- Despite net-zero commitments from G20 countries and updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and climate action, the world is still on track to limit global warming to a limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
- However, India can achieve its NDCs target by implementing the current policies.
Source – The Hindu
