2018-12-10 12:53 update: 2018-12-10, 17:11
Fot. EPA/SALVATORE DI NOLFI
A radical transformation is needed to reach the expected climate goals, with changes to infrastructure playing a crucial role in the process, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said at the climate summit in Katowice on Monday.
The OECD presented its report on the climate policy during the UN COP24 summit that is being held in the Polish southern city of Katowice.
The OECD's director for environment, Rodolfo Lacy, said there was still a long way to reach the goals stated in the 2015 Paris Agreement, with the current reductions of greenhouse emissions being highly unsatisfactory. Such reductions should be more ambitious to keep temperatures from rising higher than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial levels.
The report outlines six areas that governments should focus on, including planning, innovation, budget, public funding, development finance and cities. According to the director, the actions must not be selective and efforts should be made on all fronts.
According to the OECD, CO2 emissions will have to be reduced by 45 percent over the coming years but instead of continuing to fall, emissions have started to rise again.
That is why there is a need for a radical transformation, with infrastructure playing the key part as it is responsible for more than 60 percent of the emissions. The crucial thing is to invest in the right types of infrastructure, the OECD says.
The organisation accuses governments of institutional inertia, and notes that despite some climate action having been taken, the progress of transformation has been limited. The OECD calls for a long-term plan that would be amended depending on the changing conditions. Only a small number of countries have developed long-term low-emission strategies, the organisation observes.
The OECD also stresses the importance of innovation and switching to low- or no-emission transport. (PAP)
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