Shortfall in climate action is 'catastrophic': UN

There is a "catastrophic" gap between national pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the actions needed to cap global warming below two degrees Celsius, the UN's environment chief warned Tuesday, days ahead of global climate talks in Bonn. Even if fulfilled, these pledges - inscribed along with the 2 C target in the 2015 Paris climate pact - would see the world heat up 3 C (5.6 F), unleashing deadly heatwaves, superstorms and rising seas, UN Environment said in its annual Emissions Gap report, the bleakest ever. Record-setting extreme weather in 2017 - including monsoon flooding, raging fires and deadly hurricanes - likely bears the fingerprint of global warming, it noted.
"One year after the Paris Agreement entered into force, we still find ourselves in a situation where we are not doing nearly enough to save hundreds of millions of people from a miserable future," said Eric Solheim, head of the UN agency. "Governments, the private sector and civil society must bridge this catastrophic climate gap." Compiled by more than 200 climate scientists and experts, the annual, 100-page analysis tracks progress toward the Paris goal of checking the rise in global temperatures at "well below" 2 C.