Nations’ pledges under the 2015 Paris climate agreement fell well short of keeping global air temperature below 2 °C, the supposed threshold at which the prospect for humanity’s continued survival badly dims. Even those meager promises are being broken.
Cumulative national pledges in 2015 were to limit fossil fuel emissions to 36 gigatonnes in 2040 – twice what would have been needed to have any chance of putting a 2 °C lid on global warming. Policy plans for Paris pledgers have been found to exceed emissions promises by 14%. That does not include the United States, which will snuff out life on Earth on its own if President Trump and his rampaging Republicans have their way.
Sources:
“Emissions gap report 2018,” United Nations Environment Programme (2019).
“UN sees ‘worrying’ gap between Paris climate pledges and emissions cuts needed,” UN News (31 October 2019).
“Fossil-fuel-producing countries say one thing and do another,” The Economist (23 November 2019).