Context: Recently, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released ‘Emissions Gap Report’, according to which India is the fourth-largest emitter of Green House Gases (GHGs).
About Emission Gap

• Also called the “Commitment Gap”, it is the difference between the low level of emissions that the world needs to drop to, compared with the projected level of emissions based on countries’ current commitments to decarbonization.
• Every year, the report looks at the expected size of the gap in 2030 and progress countries are making in closing it.
• It looks at different scenarios based on the pledges that countries made to reduce or minimize their emissions under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change called Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The Emissions Gap Report measures and projects three key trendlines

• The amount of greenhouse gas emissions every year up to 2030.
• The commitments countries are making to reduce their emissions and the impact these commitments are likely to have on overall emission reduction.
• The pace at which emissions must be reduced to reach an emission low that would limit temperature increase to 1.5°C, affordably.

About Emissions Gap Report, 2019

• G20 nations collectively account for 78 per cent of all emissions, but only five G20 members have committed to a long-term zero emissions target.
• In the short-term, developed countries will have to reduce their emissions quicker than developing countries, for reasons of fairness and equity.
• All nations must substantially increase ambition in their NDCs, as the Paris commitments are known, in 2020.
• The world will fail to meet the 1.5°C temperature goal of the Paris Agreement unless global greenhouse gas emissions fall by 7.6 per cent each year.
• Global temperatures are set to rise about 3.2 degrees C by 2100.
• The top four emitters (China, USA, EU and India) contributed to over 55% of the total emissions over the last decade, excluding emissions from land-use change such as deforestation.

Solutions to curb this emissions

• A full decarbonization of the energy sector is necessary and possible.
• Renewables and energy efficiency are critical to the energy transition.
• The potential emission reduction thanks to renewable energy electricity totals 12.1 gigatonnes by 2050.
• Electrification of transport could reduce the sector’s CO2 emissions by a huge 72 per cent by 2050.
• Each sector and each country has unique opportunities to harness renewable energy, protect natural resources, lives and livelihoods, and transition to a decarbonization pathway.