World's ability to deliver on climate change has sharply reduced: Saran

According to 2015 Paris Agreement, countries commit to limit global average temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, while aiming to limit increase to 1.5 degrees

The world’s ability to deliver on climate change mitigation has reduced sharply as temperatures soar beyond the 1.5 degree Celsius levels, said Shyam Saran, president of India International Centre (IIC) and former special envoy and chief negotiator on climate change.

 

Speaking at an event here on the outcomes of the recent COP 30 meeting in Brazil and the larger energy transition, Saran said the globe has already crossed 1.5-degree C and it is not a “temporary” overshoot.

 

“Climate change is taking place due to accumulation of greenhouse gasses in the Earth’s atmosphere. As that stock keeps increasing, our ability to deliver on climate change action lessens. The longer you take to act on climate change, the bigger the problem gets,” Saran said. 

According to the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries commit to limit the global average temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, while aiming to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees.

 

The failure of developed countries to deliver on providing financial support to the developing countries is a critical issue, pointed out Ajay Mathur, former member of PM’s Council on Climate Change, speaking at the same event.

 

However, some countries, especially in the Global South, are working on meeting their respective net-zero targets, he said.

 

“At COP 30, countries, companies, associations and NGOs were focused on what they are doing right now in order to fulfill the discussions or the decisions of yesterday. We talked about how various countries are looking at meeting the net zero targets. The same countries are discussing the challenges, but also talking of the possibilities of net zero,” Mathur, former director general of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), said.