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Add to Preferred SourcesA new accounting of global climate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions finds a broad spectrum of commitments from non-state and subnational actors with potential to support and ultimately outpace governments in their emissions reductions.
The exhaustive review from UN Environment, released on September 10 ahead of the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS), highlights the crucial role of non-state actors in reducing emissions and reaching climate targets.
Ranging from city, state and regional governments to companies, investors, higher education institutions and civil society organizations, non-state actors are increasingly committing to bold climate action. As most national governments continue to come up short on their promises for better climate policy as pledged in the Paris Agreement, these efforts are increasingly recognized as a key element to achieving global emissions goals.
In total, the report finds these pledges represent a projected reduction of between 1.5 -2.2 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) by 2030.
But where the assessment finds encouraging potential for scale, it also reveals challenges related to monitoring, reporting and coordination. A lack of participation and facilitation from the government further limits the overall impact of these commitments on global CO2 reduction.
“Cities, states, civil society and the private sector can be the resource that puts the world over the top in our fight to reduce CO2 emissions,” said the head of UN Environment, Erik Solheim.
In addition to directly reducing emissions, the study emphasizes the growing role of non-state actors as incubators and accelerators for new low emissions strategies. The authors found that where the sector lacks coordinated structure, individual initiatives are increasingly seen as a proving ground for technology development and diffusion.
Read and download the report Bridging the emissions gap
– The role of non-state and subnational actors
Original source: UN Environment
Published on 10 September 2018