Rich nations must achieve net zero carbon quicker, by 2040: UN chief Guterres

With devastating impacts of climate change hitting the vulnerable in near future as shown in a new IPCC report, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday asked wealthy nations to accelerate their carbon-neutrality goals to 2040 while advising emerging economies like India and China to commit for net-zero as close to 2050 as possible.

India reacted by flagging the poor flow of finance from the developed world on adaptation (to the impacts of climate change) and mitigation, despite promises made by the rich nations at global fora. The fund flow also happens as loan and not as grants as desired by the developing world.

Releasing a capstone report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Guterres said leaders in emerging economies must commit to reaching net zero as close as possible to 2050.

“Humanity is on thin ice — and that ice is melting fast,” Guterres said. “Our world needs climate action on all fronts — everything, everywhere, all at once.”

While the UN chief didn’t name any country, the two biggest emerging economies are China (2060) and India (2070) that set a net-zero target beyond 2050 on the ground of historical inequalities and having a large aspiring population. On the other hand, most of the developed countries have a target around or before 2050.

“The report reaffirms the role of unequal historical and ongoing contributions to GHG emissions. Role of unsustainable lifestyles and patterns of consumption and production have been emphasized along with unsustainable energy use,” said Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav while commenting on the report.

“Scientists confirmed that financial support from developed to developing countries is a critical enabler of climate action highlighting that current flows are inadequate. This includes the promised-but-never-received $100 billion,” he added.

In 2018, IPCC highlighted the unprecedented scale of the challenge required to keep warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Five years later, that challenge has become even greater due to a continued increase in greenhouse gas emissions and a breach of the guardrail looks imminent even if all the countries fulfil their intended nationally determined contributions on emission cuts.

The report suggests emissions should be decreasing by now and will need to be cut by almost half by 2030, if warming is to be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The UN chief not only called for “no new coal” but also for eliminating its use in rich countries by 2030 and poor countries by 2040. He urged carbon-free electricity generation in the developed world by 2035, meaning no gas-fired power plants too.

The deadline assumes significance in the backdrop of the fact that nations soon have to come up with goals for pollution reduction by 2035, according to the Paris climate agreement.

The 37 page synthesis report – a summary of six reports that the IPCC brought out since 2018 – was adopted at a conference at the Swiss town Interlaken – would form the scientific bedrock of all climate negotiations over the next 5-6 years beginning with this year’s UN climate summit at Dubai, which would witness the outcome of the first global stock-taking of the progress made so far on the implementation of the Paris agreement.

Yadav said the report recognised the existence of critical adaptation gaps which are expected to widen at current rates and calls for rapidly ramping up global finance flows for adaptation, targeting developing countries.

“Climate justice is crucial because those who have contributed least to climate change are being disproportionately affected,” said Aditi Mukherji, director, Climate Change Impact platform, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and one of the 93 authors of the IPCC Synthesis Report.

“Almost half of the world’s population lives in regions that are highly vulnerable to climate change. In the last decade, deaths from floods, droughts and storms were 15 times higher in highly vulnerable regions. India is at the forefront of impact.”