Allianz Study: World Set to Miss 2050 Net-Zero Target
FILED - FILE PHOTO - Thick smoke rises from the smokestacks of the power plant operated by China Huaneng Group Jingyuan Thermal Power Co., Ltd. Photo: Johannes Neudecker/dpa
By Carsten Hoefer, dpa
The world is on track to miss the target of reaching climate neutrality by 2050, according to calculations by insurance company Allianz published on Thursday.
If the current pace is maintained, the planet as a whole could reach net zero emissions by 2064, while the EU would achieve the target by 2057, according to the company’s Green Transition Tracker.
Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius – as agreed under the 2015 Paris climate agreement – will be virtually impossible, the economists found.
Presstv News Nigeria learnt that the figures are based on data on energy generation from the 64 countries that account for the majority of global greenhouse gas emissions.
China remains by far the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for 30% of global emissions, followed by the US with 11%, according to Allianz.
The EU remains the leader in reducing carbon emissions, with a share of 6%, but the pace of reduction has slowed, according to the tracker.
Although climate action has never been a political priority in many countries, and the United States has moved away from its climate targets under President Donald Trump, the study suggests that 56 of the 64 countries have made progress in phasing out oil, gas and coal and further reduced emissions.
On another positive note, the share of renewables in global energy generation reached 33.5% last year, surpassing coal at 33.2% for the first time, a development that Allianz economists attribute to the war on Iran, which sent global oil and gas prices soaring.
The war, launched by the US and Israel in February, led to reductions in fossil fuel consumption and increased sales of electric cars and solar panels, they said.
CO2 emissions could even decline by 0.5% this year, Allianz predicted.
Like other major insurance groups, Allianz carries out its own economic research, as the industry has a vested interest in climate action
Claims data shows that global warming goes hand in hand with increasing damage from natural disasters such as storms and floods in the long term.
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