Today in Berlin Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, Christiana Figueres, and BMUB State Secretary, Jochen Flasbarth, presented the UNFCCC synthesis report for the Paris Climate Change Conference. The report assesses the intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) submitted by 146 countries up to 1 October 2015 for the international climate negotiations in Paris. According to the report, the mitigation measures being taken are almost four times the level of those taken under Kyoto Protocol in 1997. However, these commitments are still not enough to limit global warming to 2 degrees until the end of this century.
Jochen Flasbarth: "Over 150 countries have now submitted their climate policy measures. This accounts for over three quarters of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change. With these measures, these countries are showing that they want to separate their economic development from greenhouse gas emissions – an endeavour which must and can succeed."
Flasbarth said the UN report shows that the vast majority of countries are taking climate action seriously and want to be part of this global turnaround. He noted it had also become clear that all major emitters worldwide still need to step up their climate efforts if we are to prevent climate change becoming unmanageable. "Independent experts have calculated that the INDCs submitted to date have the capability of limiting the global temperature rise to 2.7 degrees. We therefore need to continue working hard towards limiting global warming to 2 degrees or, better yet, under 2 degrees." added Flasbarth.
"These INDCs – or national climate action plans – represent a clear and determined down-payment on a new era of climate ambition from the global community of nations. Governments from all corners of the Earth have signalled through their INDCs that they are determined to play their part according to their national circumstances and capabilities,” said Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Under its International Climate Initiative (IKI) and in collaboration with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Federal Environment Ministry have helped 40 developing countries draw up their INDCs.