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China contributes 25% to global emissions, says UN

WION Web Team
New Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Oct 13, 2020, 06:09 PM IST
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File photo Photograph:(AFP)

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The organisation’s Secretary-General Peter Taalas referred to China and said that the country produces “25 per cent of the global emissions”

On Tuesday, the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Tuesday put out a report on natural disasters, highlighting how the number of disasters have increased over the last half century. However, the disasters have caused fewer deaths than anticipated.

Based on WMO data, over 11,000 disasters struck the planet over the last 50 years. Most of these may be attributed to extreme changes in weather, unpredictable patterns triggered by climate change, and additional factors like tsunamis.

At least 2 million people lost their lives to such disasters in the last 50 years, which cost 3.6 million USD to the global economy. 

The organisation’s Secretary-General Peter Taalas referred to China and said that the country produces “25 per cent of the global emissions”. At the same time, Taalas praised China for its “record investment in renewable energy”.

Taalas added, however, that the country needs to invest in ways to avert climate catastrophes, or more commonly called “climate mitigation”.

Complied by 16 international agencies along with financial institutions, the 2020 State of Climate Services report urged governments across the world to invest heavily in mitigation measures alongside warning systems to be better prepared for natural calamities in the future.

WMO's Deputy Director, who is also in charge of Climate Services, Maxx Dilley, during a news conference in Geneva said the report held importance for all countries, and that "no individual country is self reliant and self contained when it comes to these types of system and services".

According to WMO predictions, the number of people that require international humanitarian aid could rise by 50 per cent by 2030, compared to 2018’s 108 million people who required aid. 

Owing to climate change, phenomenas like heat waves, forest fires, droughts, storms, and hurricanes will only increase in the future.