We need to stop the global average temperature from rising by more than 1.5°C and achieving net zero is the way to do this.
Climate change is a top priority on the world’s agenda. With a continuous rise in industry and transport emissions contributing to the global temperature rise and unpredictable and catastrophic weather events, it is vital to make changes now.
The control and regulation of emissions began with the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, when industrialised countries agreed to reduce emissions by 5% against 1990’s figure. The Kyoto agreement was followed by the Paris Agreement in 2015 where it was established that the global temperatures should not rise by another 2°C (above pre-industrialised levels).
At the COP26 summit in October 2021, it was made very clear that not enough action is being taken to tackle climate change. As a result, it was agreed that the average global temperature rise should not be more than 1.5°C and that more support needed to be given to developing countries to also make changes.
The summit also targeted areas such as methane emissions, limiting deforestation and phasing out fossil fuels, with the ultimate aim of being net zero by 2050.