As the world gears up for the next climate change talks from November 26 in Doha, the newly released report on Wednesday says that greenhouse gas emissions levels are now around 14 percent above where they need to be in 2020, a much needed warning to the negotiators. The report says that the countries around the world have not been able to meet their stated goal of limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.

The report says that despite efforts to curtail the emission of harmful gases in the atmosphere, it has not come down. “Instead of declining, concentration of warming gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) are actually increasing in the atmosphere — up around 20 percent since 2000,” says the report titled ‘The Emissions Gas Report 2012’.

The report comes with a warning to the nation states. “If no swift action is taken by nations, emissions are likely to be at 58 gigatonnes (Gt) in eight years’ time,” says the 62-page report. Fifty-five scientists from more than 20 countries were involved in preparing the report coordinated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the European Climate Foundation.

It also points out that even if world takes up the strictest measures to reduce harmful gases, there will be a gap of 8 Gt of CO? equivalent by 2020. “Preliminary economic assessments estimate that inaction will trigger costs likely to be at least 10 to 15 percent higher after 2020 if the needed emission reductions are delayed into the following decades,” says one of the highlights of the report.

According to the report, the pledge for green economy is happening far too slowly.

“While governments work to negotiate a new international climate agreement to come into effect in 2020, they urgently need to put their foot firmly on the action pedal by fulfilling financial, technology transfer and other commitments under the UN climate convention treaties,” says Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director.

The only international agreement to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, Kyoto Protocol, will expire by the end of 2012. Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, says, "This report is a reminder that time is running out, but that the technical means and the policy tools to allow the world to stay below a maximum 2 degrees Celsius are still available to governments and societies”.

Here are some good energy efficient practices mentioned in the report:
• Japan’s Top Runner Programme and the Ecodesign Directive of the European Union have triggered household electricity consumption savings of 11 per cent and 16 per cent respectively.
• Ghana’s standards and labelling programme for air conditioners is set to save consumers and businesses an estimated US$64 million annually in reduced energy bills and around 2.8 million tonnes of CO? equivalent over 30 years.
• Brazil where a combination of conservation policies allied to falls in agricultural commodity prices has led to a decrease in deforestation by three quarters since 2004 avoiding 2.8 Gt of CO? equivalent between 2006 and 2011.
• Protected areas in Costa Rica now represent over as fifth of its territory, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and triggering a rise in tourists from just under 390,000 in 1988 to 2.5 million in 2008.

Read the executive summary

Read the report