The International Energy Agency on Monday warned that temperatures
could jump by as much as 4.3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century
and urged countries to improve their pledges on reducing emissions.
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In a report ahead of a climate change conference in Paris this
year, the IEA said more should be done to reach the goal of keeping the
increase in average global temperature below 2C (3.6 degrees
Fahrenheit).
Current pledges “will have a positive impact on future energy
trends but will fall short of the major course correction required to
meet the 2C goal,” said the report, which was presented in London.
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Instead it estimated that there would be an average temperature
increase globally of around 2.6C by 2100 and said the rise could be
higher at 4.3C for countries in the Northern Hemisphere.
“The energy sector must play a critical role if efforts to
reduce emissions are to succeed. Energy production and use accounts for
two-thirds of the world greenhouse gas emissions,” the IEA’s executive
director Maria van der Hoeven said.
The agency’s chief economist Fatih Birol said extreme weather
events would become “much more frequent” as a result, with Africa
particularly badly affected despite only minimally contributing to the
problem.
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Van der Hoeven stressed that “time is of the essence,” noting
that “the cost and difficulty of mitigating greenhouse-gas emissions
increase every year.”
While there is “growing consensus among countries that it is
time to act,” strong vigilance is required to ensure that the pledges
are adequate and that commitments are kept, she added.
The IEA suggested five key measures to ensure that global energy-related emissions peak already in 2020.
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They call for improved energy efficiency in key industrial
sectors, reducing the use of inefficient coal-fired power plants,
increased investment in renewable energy technologies, a gradual phasing
out of fossil-fuel subsidies and a reduction in methane emissions in
oil and gas production.
“This major climate milestone is possible utilizing only proven
technologies and policies and without changing the economic and
development prospects of any region,” the IEA said.
Countries are preparing for a crucial UN meeting in Paris — the
21st Conference of Parties, or COP 21 — of the UN Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which groups 195 nations.
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The European Union earlier this year formally adopted climate
change targets for the Paris conference, including a 40 percent cut in
greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
The United States, which accounts for 12 percent of global
emissions, has announced its intention to reduce them by 26-28 percent
in 2025 compared with their level in 2005.
China, which is the world’s second-largest economy and accounts
for 25 percent of global emissions, has set a target date of “about
2030″ for its emissions to peak, but has not pledged any reductions.
Source : http://news.discovery.com
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