World needs $6.7 trillion a year by 2030 to fight climate crisis
Experts warn transformation across global economies too slow to meet temperature goals
WASHINGTON : Climate finance needs to rise sharply to US$5 trillion (S$6.7 trillion) a year globally by 2030 to fund measures to fight climate change, researchers said yesterday, warning that transformation across economies is too slow to meet international temperature goals.
From transport to agriculture and electricity, progress is lagging in all sectors on reducing planet-heating emissions at the pace required to limit global warming to 1.5 deg C and avoid its worst effects, a study by five green groups found.
None of the 40 indicators it assessed are in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement goal of reining in average temperature rise to well below 2 deg C, and ideally 1.5 deg C, above pre-industrial times.
Of the indicators, 25 were judged to be "well off track" or "off track", including using less dirty coal to generate power and boosting climate finance.
But the study did note some bright spots, such as wider adoption of wind and solar energy, and more electric vehicles on the road.
"Although there are some encouraging signs of progress in a few sectors, overall global climate mitigation efforts are still falling woefully short," said Ms Sophie Boehm, one of the authors. She is from the World Resources Institute, a United States-based think tank that worked on the study.
Ms Boehm said the findings should provide a "clear-eyed view" of the effort needed as governments head to the United Nations COP26 climate summit that kicks off on Sunday.
RAMP UP
"We are going to need world leaders at COP26 and beyond to ramp up that (climate) ambition and action immediately," Ms Boehm told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Two UN reports warned this week that the world is "way off track" to cap rising temperatures, with current national pledges set to result in an average 2.7 deg C temperature increase this century.
Globally, it said finance must rise eightfold to meet the estimated US$5 trillion needed annually for climate action by 2030 - or an average increase of US$436 billion a year this decade.
A separate annual assessment released this month by analysis group Climate Policy Initiative showed that global climate finance averaged US$632 billion in 2019 and last year, a 10 per cent rise from 2017-2018, but the rate of increase slowed from earlier years.
"Climate finance is trending upward but not nearly at the speed required," said Dr Surabi Menon, vice-president of global intelligence at the US-based ClimateWorks Foundation.
"It is imperative to support these (developing) countries with the financial and technological resources they need in order to equitably address climate change on a global scale," the climate scientist added. - REUTERS
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