Comment on UNEP Emissions Gap Report

Commenting on the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report 2018, Richard Black, director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said.

“The finding that emissions went up last year after a three-year plateau presents a major challenge to governments given that the IPCC has just said emissions need to halve in 12 years in order to stand a reasonable chance of delivering the Paris Agreement’s global warming targets.

“However, the report also shows that the trend of decoupling economic growth from emissions continued in 2017, with emissions growing by much less than the global economy.

“So while some may see this as yet more doom and gloom, it’s clear that governments can make global carbon emissions peak and decline soon if they simply do more of what’s proven to work, such as cutting energy waste and switching from coal to clean energy.”