14 November 2023 – The State of Climate Action 2023 report paints a gloomy picture of the world’s effort to keep global temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
The State of Climate Action 2023 report was compiled by six climate thinktanks. It offers a blueprint for the world to keep global temperatures below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and avoid catastrophic and irreversible climate impacts.
The report looks at about 85% of global greenhouse gas emissions, carbon removal technology and climate finance and sets targets that need to be achieved by 2030 and 2050 to meet the Paris Agreement.
It also assesses the progress that has been made globally against these targets and highlights where urgent action is needed. And the verdict of this year’s report is that we have to significantly increase our pace.
41 Of 42 Indicators Not On Track
It is a startling statistic, that only one of the indicators, the sales of electric cars, is on track to meet the 2030 target. According to the report, sales of electric cars have grown at an average annual rate of 65% in the past five years.
Six indicators, including the scale up of renewable energy and reforestation, are off track, with reforestation needing to happen 1.5 times faster than it currently is.
Electricity generation through wind and solar power needs to grow annually by 24% by 2030. Currently, it only grows by 14% every year. While progress is insufficient at the moment, it shows promise.
However, 24 indicators, which is over half of them, are well off track. Policies must be implemented at least twice as quickly to achieve the 2030 targets for these indicators.
Deforestation needs to reduce four times faster than it currently is. Public transport networks globally need to grow six times faster. Coal needs to be phased out seven times faster than the current rate.
Global climate finance needs to increase eightfold if we are to achieve the 2030 target. Electricity generation needs to be decarbonised 9 times faster than at the present rate. Carbon removal technologies need to grow ten times faster.
Unabated fossil gas for electricity generation needs to be phased ten times faster. Mangroves need to be restored ten times faster than at the current rate.
This shows that the world is just not doing enough to avert a climate catastrophe, despite knowing what needs doing.
Global efforts to limit warming to 1.5C are lacklustre at best. Despite decades of dire warnings and wake-up calls, our leaders have largely failed to mobilise climate action anywhere near the pace and scale needed. Such delays leave us with very few routes to secure a livable future for all.
Sophie Boehm, Lead Author of the State of Climate Action 2023 report
We Are Moving In The Wrong Direction
While most of the indicators are moving in the right direction, albeit at too slow a pace, there are six indicators where the world moves in the wrong direction.
Travel by private car is actually increasing rather than falling, as it should, especially in wealthy countries like the US. The report highlights that the world needs to shift to more sustainable transport modes, such as walking, cycling and using public transport.
One issue is that most people just don’t have the option not to use their cars. The expansion of bike lanes worldwide is happening, but far too slow.
Like forests and peatlands, mangroves absorb and lock in carbon, reducing carbon emissions. However, the loss of mangroves is rising when it should be falling. We need to protect these ecosystems urgently.
Especially, because the restoration of mangroves is happening much too slow, and it takes hundreds or even thousands of years before new mangroves can hold as much carbon as established ones.
Another trend that is heading in the wrong direction is public funding of fossil fuels. Rather than governments and leaders stopping to fund fossil fuels, they actually increased funding. The UK is one of those countries, with Rishi Sunak recently announcing the granting of new licences for gas and oil fields in the North Sea.
The Prime Minister even introduced a new bill during last week’s King’s Speech to support future oil and gas field licences.
Only if we meet the 2030 and 2050 targets for every single indicator, will we be able to keep the global temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. But at the moment it looks like the world won’t be able to achieve this.
Our Opinion
The State of Climate Action 2023 report definitely makes for grim reading and frankly, it scares me. With only one indicator being on track, it makes me wonder if the world is taking the issue seriously enough.
Many politicians clearly don’t. Our Prime Minister has recently watered down the country’s climate targets, making reaching net-zero by 2050 even more difficult. Donald Trump, who might be the next US President, again, is a known global warming and climate change sceptic.
China, while increasing renewable energy, also increases their fossil fuel production. And rich oil states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are stubbornly resisting the phasing out of fossil fuels.
It seems to me like the people in power just can’t bring themselves to do the right things. Either because they are more focused on staying in power or because they are greedy for money.
Most countries have climate targets or goals. However, the majority don’t have policies that will lead to meeting these targets. So what good are these goals?
We need leaders who take the issue of climate change seriously and are prepared to do whatever it takes to keep to the Paris Agreement. There is just no other way, because there is no Planet B.
