PIK expertise on the Petersberg Climate Dialogue

The progress in implementing the countries' plans for emission reductions will be reviewed and evaluated at the upcoming COP28, as part of the Global Stocktake. “While this stock-take of national climate efforts is a vital reality check for the gap between climate targets and mitigation progress, it is not enough. Recent research on tipping elements and the risks of temporarily overshooting the UN climate limit of 1.5-2 degrees Celsius need to be taken into account, as these insights once more underline the urgency for much more resolute climate action”, comments Johan Rockström.

New research that could not be be considered for the IPCC's most recent Assessment Report also underscores the the need for a scaling-up of carbon removal technologies, as some residual greenhouse gas emissions will be unavoidable even with the most stringent climate policies. "While these technologies might seem convenient at first sight, cleaning up greenhouse gases after they have been emitted should not be the first solution on a path to climate neutrality and net zero emissions, but rather the last," PIK Director Ottmar Edenhofer says. “To limit climate risks, there is no way around a massive acceleration of renewable energy expansion and swift emission reductions - particularly for the coming years up to 2030”