The world is falling dangerously short of the ambition that is needed to secure a safe future climate, according to new analysis by PwC, and as a result we need to fight to prevent every fraction of a degree of warming.
PwC’s latest Net Zero Economy Index shows that a year-on-year decarbonisation rate of 17.2% (up from 15.2% last year) is now required to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels – seven times greater than what was achieved over the last year (2.5%) and 12 times faster than the global average (1.4%) over the past two decades.
To put this into perspective, since 2000, no G20 country has achieved a decarbonisation rate of more than 11% in a single year – the highest level was achieved by the UK in 2014 (-10.9%).
The Index provides a stark illustration of the growing divergence between the global ambition to tackle climate change and the reality of current progress.
PwC’s analysis shows that all nations need to work harder to reduce emissions to stand any chance of meeting the IPCC’s 2030 deadline to reduce emissions by 43%, with a 78% reduction in carbon intensity now required in under seven years.
Emma Cox, Global Climate Leader, at PwC said: “The fact the world needs to decarbonise seven times faster is a spur to action, not a counsel of despair. While the overall pace has to pick up rapidly, dramatic change is possible when business and policy makers align. The rapid acceleration of the deployment of wind and solar in several regions shows change can happen. The world is decoupling growth from carbon emissions, now we need that trend to become a surge.”
