World off track to stop climate change: WWF

A recent report stated that the world is on pace to release 30% more carbon in 2020 than what scientists deem safe.

According to the WWF, emissions of C02e in 2020 could reach 53.6 billion tons, much higher than the 40 billion ton limit scientists believe would avoid drastic climate change.

A new report states that the majority of gaps between required carbon levels and actual emissions can be fixed.

For instance, countries can cut 4.3 billion tons of emissions annually through future science-based targets.

Another 2.4 billion tons can be slashed by fixing policy loopholes that can permit double counting of emission cuts and even false claims.

CDM hole
One such loophole is the Kyoto protocol’s clean development mechanism (CDM) which has allowed double counting of emission cuts of about 1 billion tons.

The WWF notes, “Currently, such cuts can still be counted in both the inventories of developing countries where they occur and the inventories of developed countries that buy the generated CDM credits.”

Additional financial support for developing countries to improve low-carbon transitions and covering sectors such as aviation and shipping would diminish the emission gap by another 2 to 3 billion tons.