Scientists have warned that a key group of G20 leaders is committed to climate targets which would cause catastrophic global warming. According to scientists, Australia, Brazil, China and Russia all have energy policies that are linked with 5C increases in atmospheric temperature, which would cause widespread destruction.Paris Equity Check, a peer-reviewed organization, has raised serious concerns about the likelihood of major climate agreements being reached at the Cop26 summit in Glasgow within three months. This conference, which is rated one of the most important climate summits in history, will try to reach policies that limit global warming to 1.5C. It will also agree on a global policy to end net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.The EU and UK have set out emission pledges that could help bring the world closer to these goals. If the rest of the world follows the lead of China, Brazil, Australia, and Russia, the rise in global temperatures would be 5C. This stark discrepancy shows a deep division in the energy and environment policies among the richest countries. Tanya Steele (chief executive at WWF) warned that Cop26 won't deliver the future we need if there isn't more ambition from China Brazil, Russia, Australia and Brazil.Last week, the stark differences in climate plans between different G20 countries that together account for 85% global carbon emissions was highlighted by a meeting of energy and environment ministers in Naples. The group failed to reach an agreement on a set of climate commitments to combat climate change. According to Avaaz, an online activist network, the G20 is not delivering.Cop26 was viewed as a crucial staging point for the G20 meeting. Its failure to find common ground highlights the critical differences between nations within the group. This shows that it will be difficult to reach a meaningful agreement in Scotland.Yann Robiou Du Pont, lead researcher on the Paris Equity Tracker analysis, supported this point. This research reveals what many fear: major economies are not doing enough to address the climate crisis. In many cases, G20 countries leave us on track [for] more heatwaves and flooding.The world would be 5C warmer than it was before the Industrial Revolution. This would mean that 25% of the world's population would experience extreme drought for at most one month per year. Rainforests would be decimated and ice sheets would melt, causing dangerous sea-level rises.Additionally, oceans could absorb more solar radiation if they lose reflective ice at the poles. Meanwhile, methane plumes from melting permafrost in Siberia, and other regions, would be released, another dangerous greenhouse gas. Temperatures would rise even more.Scientists, however, believe that temperature rises should be controlled below 1.5C to prevent the worst effects of climate change. However, they point out that the temperatures have already risen by 1.2C and the world is now in a tight spot to avoid the worst consequences of global warming in the next 30 year.This month has seen the severity of the climate crisis highlighted with severe weather events causing destruction around the globe: devastating floods in Germany, Belgium, and China and massive wildfires in the US and Siberia. In all cases, global warming was implicated.We must now take action ahead of Cop26. It is our duty to the most vulnerable countries that we unite. We cannot fail to fulfill our commitments and we should not be seen lacking, stated Alok Sharma, the ex-UK business secretary and now president of Cop26. Sharma was harshly critical of China and Russia, which are big climate emitters. He warned that they must do more to combat climate change.Nearly 200 countries signed the 2015 Paris Agreement to submit climate plans every five year with a goal of limiting global warming to below 2C. They also committed to submitting new climate plans each year. This is in addition to aiming for 1.5C compared to preindustrial levels. The United Nations warned that current climate plans were not up to par with the Paris goals, and issued a red alert earlier in the year.According to the International Energy Agency, if the world is to keep within 1.5C of global warming, then all development and exploration of fossil fuels should stop starting in this year.John Kerry, President Joe Biden's climate envoy, said to the Observer that the US was closely considering the implications for the IEA report. He said that people are aware of the need for policy and programmes to be changed in a way that embraces this. This is something that everyone around the globe should be doing. It is time to think differently. We need to think differently.Biden said that he was also trying to get the US and China to agree on the necessity of staying within 1.5C.Biden hopes that China will recognize the realities of where everyone is and where China is and what they need to do in order to make this happen. China is a global leader and has a special responsibility for ensuring that we all meet [climate goals]. We are looking for common ground.Although he said that there was no plan for a US-China summit like the one President Barack Obama held with China's President Xi Jinping before the Paris conference, he said it was possible.He said: Many conversations with China are still in progress.
