There is still a large gap between the pledges by governments to cut greenhouse gas emissions and the reductions scientists say are needed to avoid dangerous levels of climate change, the UN has said. Against that, emissions of other greenhouse gases, notably methane, had increased. The “emissions gap” uncovered by the UN does not include the consequences of a US withdrawal from the Paris agreement. The US is the world’s second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, after China. The latter are powerful greenhouse gases, which when they reach the atmosphere cause warming many times greater than carbon dioxide, but there are alternatives which can be used instead.

Source: The Guardian October 31, 2017 10:41 UTC