Following years of pressure to limit global carbon emissions, the United Nations culminated in a plan of action, referred to as the Net Zero Coalition, whose mission is to achieve net-zero emissions, meaning that the global carbon input matches its carbon output. Currently, the seven worst countries, on a scale of net carbon emissions from highest to lowest, consists of China, the United States, India, the European Union, Indonesia, Russia, and Brazil. These seven countries are creating roughly half of the greenhouse gasses emitted globally.
According to the United Nations’ statistics, global emissions have risen by 10% since 2010, a demoralizing statistic when compared to the 45% reduction required to net the global greenhouse gas emissions at zero by 2030. If we could reach net zero carbon emissions, the Earth’s global temperature would rise less than 2°C since the beginning of global industrialization. This is vital, since the Earth’s temperature is already 1.1°C higher than it was at the time of industrialization.
At the Glasgow Climate Pact last November, many countries were called upon to revise their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by the end of 2022, as a way of taking more significant steps toward achieving net zero by 2030. Unfortunately, only 24 revised climate plans had been submitted as of September 2022. This is causing outrage among activists like 19-year-old Greta Thunberg, who are concerned about the lack of follow-through after these conferences and “pacts” from the countries. This is gross negligence on behalf of the countries who have not updated their NDCs despite their greenhouse emissions continuing to rise.
By Joy Savoy
