Keeping 1.5°C alive: closing the gap in the 2020s
The latest report by the Energy Transitions Commission (ETC), Keeping 1.5°C Alive: Closing the Gap in the 2020s, sets out the key actions necessary in the 2020s to deliver the Paris agreement and limit global warming to 1.5°C. Current national decarbonisation pledges (Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs), made as part of the Paris Agreement, fall far short of keeping the planet’s average temperature rise within 1.5°C. An additional 17-20 Gt of CO2 reductions and a 40% reduction in methane emissions would be needed to achieve that objective. The ETC’s report describes technologically feasible actions which could close that gap to a 1.5°C pathway. The report focuses on actions which are clearly technically feasible and entail minimal cost. All of the actions identified could initially be progressed via commitments from leading countries and companies, without the need for comprehensive international agreement. But two high priority actions – ending deforestation and reducing emissions from existing coal plants – will need to be supported by climate finance flows from rich developed countries.
