Swift action needed to tackle widening emissions gap: U.N.
Author: Nina Chestney Greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 could be
between 8 billion and 13 billion metric tonnes (14.33 billion
tons) above what is needed to limit global warming to two
degrees Celsius, a United Nations' Environment Program (UNEP)
report showed on Wednesday. The annual report, prepared by UNEP
and the European Climate Foundation, studied a range of
estimates to assess whether current pledges for emissions cuts
are enough to limit the worst effects of climate change. It
found the gap between countries' emissions cut pledges and what
is needed to stay under what scientists say is the limit to
avoid devastating effects from global warming has widened since
last year's estimate of 6-11 billion tonnes due to higher-than-
expected economic growth and other new data. The World Bank
warned this week that the world is likely to warm by 3-4 degrees
by the end of the century and extreme weather will become the
"new normal", affecting every region i