Between 1990 and 2016, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by developed countries declined by 13 per cent, says a report titled ‘Compilation and Synthesis’, released by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on Thursday at the 24th Conference of Parties in Katowice, Poland.
Actions to mitigate climate change as well as the impacts of economic and demographic growth helped bring down emissions in these countries by 4.4 per cent between 2010 and 2016, says the report.
It also highlighted a 23 per cent drop in GHG emissions per person in developed countries between 1990 and 2016. Emission reduction measures have increased and are paying off, it says. This serves as an important start-off to meeting climate action targets, under the Paris Agreement, before 2020.
Further, financial support provided by the developed countries to the developing ones increased by 13 per cent between the 2013-2014 and 2015-2016 reporting periods. The developed nations contributed nearly $49.4 billion in 2016.
The report commends that this hike in financial support could provide the much-needed impetus to developing countries to shift towards a low-emission economy and meet the sustainable development goals.
Another boost to developing countries’ climate action plan beyond 2020 is the technology transfer and capacity-building support, says the report.
The report, however, flagged the disproportionate implementation of measures and policies. It says that while some developed countries are ahead of their targets, others still lag behind.
The paper is based on reporting that developed countries are obliged to undertake every two years.