The most developed countries are not registering “green growth”, experts warned on Monday who are calling for policies aimed at tackling the climate crisis to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
An expert analysis published in “The Lancet Planetary Health” questions political claims that some developed countries have achieved “green growth” and reveals that emissions reductions in these nations are well below the climate targets of the Paris pact .
This international agreement, in force since the end of 2016, aims to limit the average increase in global temperature to 2 degrees Celsius with respect to pre-industrial levels, redouble efforts to not exceed the level of 1.5 degrees by the end of this century, as well as as well as how to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
The study published by the “Lancet” indicates that, if current trends continue, it will take, on average, more than 200 years for emissions to approach zero.
The authors argue that the pursuit of economic growth in developed countries is not in line with internationally agreed climate goals and call for transformative climate policy.
“There is nothing green about economic growth in high-income countries,” said study lead author Jefim Vogel of the Institute for Sustainability Research at the University of Leeds in the UK.
“It’s a recipe for climate collapse and further climate injustice. Calling these insufficient emissions cuts ‘green growth’ is misleading.”
According to Jefim Vogel, for growth to be legitimately considered “green” it “must be consistent with the climate goals and equity principles of the Paris Agreement.”
“But high-income countries have not achieved anything like that and it is highly unlikely that they will in the future,” he added.
The study identifies 11 developed countries that achieved “decoupling”, i.e. a decrease in carbon emissions along with an increase in GDP, between 2013 and 2019: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg , the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
None of the developed countries achieved emission reductions fast enough to reach the Paris level, the study warns.
Source: TSF
