Phasing out fossil fuels, not unproven technologies, can limit peak warming

The latest Emissions Gap Report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) confirms that the world will overshoot the 1.5°C limit as current climate policies, especially progress on phasing out fossil fuels, are insufficient to limit global temperatures.

350.org said that the UNEP report makes the immediate task for world leaders clear — deliver concrete plans to phase out fossil fuels at the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP31). Declarations are not enough: leaders need to urgently act on earlier commitments to transition away from fossil fuels and triple renewable electricity capacity.

To limit peak warming, UNEP also said that large-scale carbon dioxide removal alongside drastic emission cuts is needed. However, 350.org warned against the promotion of large-scale carbon dioxide removal, emphasizing that these are unproven technologies that fossil fuel companies and governments rely on as an excuse to keep expanding oil, coal and gas. 

Fenton Lutunatabua, 350.org Pacific & Caribbean lead, said:

"This report is clear: fossil fuels are driving us beyond the 1.5°C limit. The fastest and fairest way back is not to bet on unproven technologies, but to cut emissions now, end the expansion of fossil fuels, and protect the forests, oceans and ecosystems that already keep carbon out of the atmosphere.

We know this works: since the Paris Agreement, global renewable electricity capacity has grown three times faster than expected, and the report shows that bold climate policies cut emissions at scale. But what’s on the table now is far from enough, putting us on track for around 2.6°C of warming. We need more, and we can do more.

Every five years of CO2 emissions at current levels pushes peak warming up by around 0.1°C, and every tenth of a degree is measured in lives. The time for action is now."

Media Contact:

Ilang-Ilang Quijano, 350.org Media Campaigner, [email protected], +639175810934