Individual city, region and company commitments in India could reduce emissions to 225-255 MtCO2e/year by 2030, more than the emissions generated by the country's industrial processes in 2014, a new international study said on Thursday.
International cooperative initiatives could reduce emissions by eight to 13 percent (280-490 MtCO2e/year) in India more than what it will be achieved through current national policies.
By 2030, global greenhouse gas emissions could be 1.5 to 2.2 GtCO2e/year lower if existing sub-national commitments are fully implemented, compared to what would be achieved through current national policies, it said.
The study comes from Data-Driven Yale, New Climate Institute, PBL Environmental Assessment Agency in partnership with CDP and is the most comprehensive assessment to date of sub-national commitments to reduce greenhouse gases.
The report "Global climate action from cities, regions, and businesses" says action by cities, states, regions, and business can go a long way towards meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, but their actions alone are not enough to hold the global temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius and work towards limiting it to 1.5 degrees.
"The potential of these commitments to help the world avoid dangerous climate change is clear - the key is now to ensure that these commitments are really implemented," said Angel Hsu, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Yale-NUS College and Director of Data-Driven Yale.
"What our report shows is that many actors are signing up to take actions, but their ambition and ability to move us faster and closer to reach the Paris climate goals in time is limited. What's needed now is the financing, policies, and support to urgently realize these efforts," he added.
The report says by 2030, global greenhouse gas emissions could be 1.5 to 2.2 GtCO2e/year lower if individual commitments from nearly 6,000 cities, states and regions and over 2,000 companies are fully implemented, compared to what would be achieved through national policies that are currently underway.
In the US, where President Trump has announced his intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, the full implementation of the reported and quantified individual city, region, and company commitments could provide at least half (660 and 810MtCO2e/year in 2030) of the emissions reductions needed to meet America's Paris pledge.
In the European Union, city, region and company commitments could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 230 to 445 MtCO2e/year, roughly equivalent to Italy's greenhouse gas emissions in 2016.
In China, these actions could reduce emissions by up to 150 MtCO2e, roughly equivalent to what the country's industrial processes generated in 2014.
The report will be considered at next month's Global Climate Action Summit to be held in San Francisco.
This event, convened by California Governor Jerry Brown, will showcase the climate leadership of states, regions, cities, businesses, investors, and citizens, and highlight significant new commitments by these actors, including new efforts to work together to increase the impact of their actions.
