In line with the 2015 Paris Agreement, one key call is how to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels to prevent extreme weather events and other worst-case climate impacts, such as melting glaciers and landslides. According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), as of December 2020 the global average temperature rise was 1.2 degrees.

Carbon emissions cause global warming. To prevent a temperature rise between 1.5 and 2 degrees, efforts to reduce carbon emissions to net-zero are imperative. Net-zero means that actions, such as the use of carbon capture technology, are taken to remove any remaining greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.   

Apparently, Biden wants the summit “to catalyze efforts that keep that 1.5 degree Celsius goal within reach” and have leaders commit to the goal at this year’s annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, in Glasgow from Nov. 1 to 12.

The US will announce an “ambitious” 2030 emissions target as its new nationally determined contribution (NDC).

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a regular meeting of the world’s climate scientists who assess climate issues, states that the global electricity mix by 2030 should be 47 to 65 percent renewable energy in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

Meanwhile, the December 2020 Emissions Gap Report (EGR) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) found that the world was still heading for a temperature rise in excess of 3 degrees this century despite a brief dip in carbon dioxide emissions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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