Climate change is likely to be slightly less damaging thanks to policies in India and China that could offset the U.S.’s reduced environmental efforts under President Trump.
“The Carbon Action Tracker (CAT) report, by three independent European research groups, said current policies meant the world was headed for a warming of 3.4 degrees Celsius (6.1 Fahrenheit) by 2100, down from 3.6 degrees (6.5) it predicted a year ago,” explained Reuters.
“This is the first time since the CAT began tracking action in 2009 that policies at a national level have visibly reduced its end of century temperature estimate,” said the report.
China is poised to surpass its commitment under the Paris Agreement, and peak its carbon emissions no later than 2013, while India has also made progress in curbing coal-based emissions. However, the total emission output in both countries is still growing.
“The most fundamental step to halt the global emissions growth now is for coal plants to be phased out in many countries,” said Bill Hare of Climate Analytics, one of the research groups.