Despite promises, the world will not achieve emissions neutrality in 2050 – 10/13/2021

In a report confirming the scale of the environmental crisis that the planet is going through, the International Energy Agency indicated that governments will not be able to achieve the goal of neutralizing global carbon emissions by 2050 and that it will be 60% below its target. If there is no fundamental change in the attitude of leaders, companies and society

The report, published on Wednesday, is a milestone for the Climate Summit (COP26) that in November in Glasgow will bring together governments from around the world so that an agreement can be reached in order to reduce emissions.

At the current rate of declining emissions and based on promises made by countries in recent months, carbon emissions will be reduced by only 40% by 2050.

For the agency, the world is moving “very slowly to put global emissions in a steady decline towards neutrality”.

“The world’s most encouraging clean energy push is facing an intractable reality fuel “Fossil fuels are in our energy systems,” said Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency.

“Governments need to address this at COP26, and give a clear and unambiguous signal that they are committed to the rapid expansion of clean and flexible technologies in the future,” he said.

To change course and allow an industrial revolution to achieve this goal, the International Energy Agency estimates that $4 trillion in investments will be needed by 2030.

The problem, according to the agency, is that governments are using billionaire economic recovery packages to fund the use of coal again. Despite the drop in emissions in 2020, 2021 is expected to see the second largest increase in carbon dioxide emissions in history.

For the agency, the G-20 meeting in Rome at the end of the month and Cop26 in November should serve the world’s major leaders to make more ambitious plans, but also for the rich countries to make the promised remittances to most nations. poor.

Of the $4 trillion needed to enable environmental transformation, the International Energy Agency estimates that 70% must go to developing markets.

In the Brazilian case, emissions increased from 411 tons of carbon dioxide in 2010 to 442 in 2019. In 2020, there was a decrease to 421 tons. But the government has promised to reach the target of 356 tons in 2030 and 189 tons in 2050.