Global decarbonization efforts are moving at a snail’s pace, according to a new report by Fitch Ratings. While developed economies have made some strides, emerging markets have failed to make significant reductions in their carbon emissions.
The report revealed that worldwide CO2 emissions rose by 1.8% last year, outpacing the global GDP growth of 2.9%. This indicates that the efficiency of resource use has not improved substantially. In fact, the ratio of emissions to GDP decreased by only 1%, falling short of the 8% annual decline needed to achieve net-zero targets by 2050.
While 10 developed economies achieved their lowest emissions levels since 1970, emerging markets as a whole made no progress in decarbonization. In the 10 emerging markets tracked by Fitch, both CO2 emissions and GDP increased by 4.7% last year.
Fitch expressed particular concern about the lack of progress in emerging markets, given their rapid economic growth and increasing share of global energy consumption. One of the key reasons for their poor performance is underinvestment in clean energy projects, especially outside of China.
The slow pace of decarbonization in emerging markets is a major obstacle to achieving global climate goals. It is imperative that these countries accelerate their efforts to transition to cleaner energy sources. Otherwise, the world will face a bleak future with rising temperatures and severe environmental consequences.
Reference- Reuters article, Fitch Ratings report, The Economist, Business Insider