The International Energy Agency (IEA) believes that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees can only be achieved with increased efforts.
A prerequisite is a rapid acceleration of climate protection efforts and international cooperation, the IEA announced in Paris. In order to stay on the right track, almost all countries would have to bring forward their desired climate neutrality. A faster climate change in industrialized countries could give emerging and developing countries more time for change. Significantly more investments for climate protection would have to be mobilized in these countries.
In its new analysis, the IEA emphasizes the importance of stronger international cooperation to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. If climate protection measures are not accelerated and implemented as planned by 2030, massive emphasis will have to be placed on CO2 storage in order to achieve the 1.5 degree target. However, technologies for this are expensive and have not yet been tested on a large scale.
“To achieve the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, the world must come together quickly. The good news is that we know what we need to do – and how we can do it,” said IEA Director Fatih Birol. “But we also have a very clear message: strong international cooperation is crucial for success.” Governments would need to separate climate from geopolitics given the scale of the challenge at hand.
According to climate researchers, the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial times is hanging by a thread. It is still considered theoretically possible, but only through a radical change in climate policy. The international community is aiming for the 1.5 degree target in order to avoid exceeding dangerous tipping points with irreversible consequences and to avert the most catastrophic consequences of climate change. However, the measures planned by the states so far are nowhere near ambitious enough. According to the United Nations, the earth is currently heading towards more than 2.5 degrees of warming.
