Every year the negative impacts of climate change become more intense. Every year they bring more misery and pain to hundreds of millions of people across the globe. Every year they become more a problem of the here and now as well as a warning of tougher consequences to come. We are in a climate emergency. And still as UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report 2022 shows nations procrastinate. Since COP26 in Glasgow in 2021 new and updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs) have barely impacted the temperatures we can expect to see at the end of this century. This year’s report tells us that unconditional NDCs point to a 2.6°C increase in temperatures by 2100 far beyond the goals of the Paris Agreement. Existing policies point to a 2.8°C increase highlighting a gap between national commitments and the efforts to enact those commitments. In the best case scenario full implementation of conditional NDCs plus additional net zero commitments point to a 1.8°C rise. However this scenario is currently not credible. To get on track to limiting global warming to 1.5°C we would need to cut 45 per cent off current greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. For 2°C we would need to cut 30 per cent. A stepwise approach is no longer an option. We need system-wide transformation. This report tells us how to go about such a transformation. It looks in-depth at the changes needed in electricity supply industry transport buildings and food systems. It looks at how to reform financial systems so that these urgent transformations can be adequately financed.

This eleventh edition of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report has been produced in a year where the COVID-19 crisis has dominated the news and policymaking and has caused immense suffering and economic and social disruption worldwide. This economic disruption has briefly slowed – but far from eliminated – the historic and ever-increasing burden of human activity on the Earth’s climate. This burden is observable in the continuing rise in extreme weather events including wildfires and hurricanes and in the melting of glaciers and ice at both poles. The year 2020 has set new records – they will not be the last. As in previous years this report assesses the gap between estimated future global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions if countries implement their climate mitigation pledges and the global emission levels from least-cost pathways that are aligned with achieving the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. This difference between “where we are likely to be and where we need to be” is known as the ‘emissions gap’. The report also examines two areas that are highly relevant for bridging the gap and which have become even more relevant in the wake of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic: the shipping and aviation sectors where international emissions are not covered by nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and lifestyle change. Reflecting the unusual circumstances the 2020 report deviates from its usual approach of exclusively considering consolidated data from previous years as the basis for assessment. To maximize its policy relevance preliminary assessments of the implications of the pandemic and associated rescue and recovery measures are included throughout the report.

This 9th edition of the UN Environment Emissions Gap Report assesses the latest scientific studies on current and estimated future greenhouse gas emissions and compares these with the emission levels permissible for the world to progress on a least-cost pathway to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. This difference between “where we are likely to be and where we need to be” is known as the ‘emissions gap’. As in previous years the report explores some of the most important options available for countries to bridge the gap.

The UN Environment Emissions Gap Report assesses the latest scientific studies on current and estimated future greenhouse gas emissions and compares these with the emission levels permissible for the world to progress on a least-cost pathway to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. This difference between “where we are likely to be and where we need to be” is known as the ‘emissions gap’. The report explores some of the most important options available for countries to bridge the gap.

The UN Environment Emissions Gap Report assesses the latest scientific studies on current and estimated future greenhouse gas emissions and compares these with the emission levels permissible for the world to progress on a least-cost pathway to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. This difference between “where we are likely to be and where we need to be” is known as the ‘emissions gap’. The report explores some of the most important options available for countries to bridge the gap.

The UN Environment Emissions Gap Report assesses the latest scientific studies on current and estimated future greenhouse gas emissions and compares these with the emission levels permissible for the world to progress on a least-cost pathway to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. This difference between “where we are likely to be and where we need to be” is known as the ‘emissions gap’. The report explores some of the most important options available for countries to bridge the gap.

The UN Environment Emissions Gap Report assesses the latest scientific studies on current and estimated future greenhouse gas emissions and compares these with the emission levels permissible for the world to progress on a least-cost pathway to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. This difference between “where we are likely to be and where we need to be” is known as the ‘emissions gap’. The report explores some of the most important options available for countries to bridge the gap.