Maiden UN global stocktake could set off ‘aggressive’ revisions to net-zero pathways

IN THREE months, world leaders will descend on the city of Dubai for yet another United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP28), but this time, parties will head into the summit with the first-ever report book of the progress made since the Paris Agreement. 

Expected to be released later this week, the synthesis report of the quinquennial assessment of national climate policies, known as the Global Stocktake, is expected to set the tone for political discussions at COP. Observers, however, see the writing on the wall.

Sharad Somani, head of environmental, social and governance (ESG) at KPMG in Singapore, believes the report will clearly highlight the “impossibility” of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, much less “well below” 2 deg C as stated under the treaty, unless Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – voluntary commitments by signatory countries – become more ambitious.