African Climes

This yearly document is produced by UN Environment Program and is the fourteenth in a series. It assesses all of 2023 in terms of climate change especially mitigation. The title is meant to bring attention to a very important fact – we’ve missed the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets once more, and with it dire consequences. 2023 was the hottest year ever recorded, with temperature records being broken again, and September especially being the hottest month ever. Temperatures this month hit 1.8 degrees above preindustrial times, and collectively, 2023 had 86 days that were above 1.5 degrees. So what is an emissions gap? It is the difference (gap) between the collective result of emission cuts as outlined in the NDCs [1] , and the emission cuts needed for the least cost pathways outlined in the AR6 [2] in order to keep within 1.5 or 2 degrees. Though parties to the Paris agreement show intention to cut emissions, the level of ambition outlined in the NDCs is nowhere ne...

The global stocktake is mandated by article 14 of the Paris Agreement that requires collective assessment of climate action and progress towards attaining the goal of the agreement. It’s done every 5 years with 2023 being the first GST. This technical report is the second step in the GST with the third being adoption of its conclusions - done at COP28. The first finding is that the Paris agreement and coming into force of the UNFCCC [1]  have driven climate action at a global scale. However, we are still not on track to keep within 1.5/2C. In 2010 at Cancun, temperatures were projected to be 3.7-4.8 degrees above preindustrial levels in 2100. In 2015, analysis of all INDC [2] s indicated 3-3.2 degrees. At COP27 [3] , mitigation announcements and long term net zero targets indicated a rise of 1.7-2.1 degrees in 2100. The agreement has increased support for climate mitigation and adaptation especially in developing countries. In addition, the IPCC [4] reports, most recently t...

The 28 th conference of parties to UNFCCC serving as the 5 th meeting of parties to the Paris Agreement was held from 30 th November to 13 th December 2023 in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. This was an important one because of the global stocktake (GST), the process which assesses all climate progress vis-a-vis the goals of the Paris agreement. The stocktake tells us where we are in attaining these goals and sets the new basis for individual national climate targets (NDCs). The first was in 2023 and thereafter every five years. This 21-page decision was comprehensive because it involves everything in climate change and it contains every sector. It starts by acknowledging the findings of the UNFCCC NDCs synthesis report and those of the IPCC’s sixth assessment report. Notably, human activities have caused a rise of 1.1C above preindustrial times, and rapid deep and accelerated emission cuts are needed this decade to keep within 1.5 and reach net zero by midcentury. The P...