UNEP's Emissions Gap Report

There is quite a buzz about the new UNEP report released this week.  The Copenhagen Accord of 2009 included pledges from over 100 countries to reduce their emissions, with a stated goal of limiting the global temperature rise to 2 degrees centigrade. (See Copenhagen Accord) This report identifies what gaps remain between the "scientific reality and the current level of ambition of nations." Taking the most ambitious of the pledges from the countries associated with the Copenhagen Accord, the annual emissions of GHG (greenhouse gases) could be cut by about 7 Gt (gigatons) of CO2 equivalent.  Unfortunately, that would leave a "gap of around 5 Gt compared with where we need to be." With the less ambitious targets, the gap increases to 9 Gt. The full report can be downloaded at www.unep.org/publications/ebooks/emissionsgapreport.