Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Alarming countdown: On net zero carbon emission target

Alarming countdown: On net zero carbon emission target

All nations must strive (प्रयास करना) for net zero carbon emissions (कार्बन उत्सर्जन)

The title of the United Nations’ latest report, Broken Record (Released on November 20, 2023, the Emissions Gap Report 2023: Broken Record - Temperatures hit new highs, yet world fails to cut emissions (again) finds that the world is heading for a temperature rise far above the Paris Agreement goals unless countries deliver more than they have promised. The report is the 14th edition in a series that brings together many of the world’s top climate scientists to look at future trends in greenhouse gas emissions and provide potential solutions to the challenge of global warming), is a clever pun (a type of joke or a humorous use of a word that has several meanings; wordplay, play on words, double meaning). Not only does it suggest that previous warnings of the consequences (परिणाम) of rising greenhouse gas (heat-trapping gas; a gas (such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, etc.) in the atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation, causing the greenhouse effect and warming of Earth’s temperature. emissions (GHG) are being ignored but also that new ceilings (limit, cap, upper limit, limitation) are being breached (उल्लंघन). The annual emissions report, usually timed (समय) close to the beginning of the climate talks (वार्ता), reiterates (दोहराना) in sharper language that progress, since the Paris Agreement (PA) (The Paris Agreement builds upon the Convention (agreement) and for the first time brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with enhanced support to assist developing countries to do so. The Paris Agreement central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius) of 2015, has been tardy (late, delayed, behind schedule/time). The stated goal was to keep temperatures from rising over 2°C, and ‘as far as (जहां तक) possible’ below 1.5°C, of pre-industrial levels (पूर्व-औद्योगिक स्तर). In the last few years, much of the consensus (सर्वसम्मति) has been that we should be directing all our efforts towards keeping it below 1.5°C. The Broken Record report, however, suggests that accounting for (constitute, comprise, form, compose, make up, represent) all commitments made by countries, as per the PA, to minimise their economies’ reliance (dependence) on fossil fuel (जीवाश्म ईंधन), temperatures would still result in (lead to, cause, bring on, bring about, give rise to, produce) an overshoot (go beyond, go a little further than, pass over (a limit); overrun, overreach, overpass) of 2.5°C-2.9°C by the end of the century. To keep temperature below 2°C, emissions by 2030 must be cut 28% and for 1.5°C, they need to be shaved (reduce, cut, lessen, decrease, bring down) by 42%. Despite many countries having promised (वादा) to be ‘net zero,’ meaning no net carbon emissions, the report does not think these promises are ‘credible (विश्वसनीय)’ and even in the most optimistic (आशावादी) scenarios (situation, setting, background, context), the likelihood (chance, possibility, prospect) of keeping emissions below 1.5°C are 14%.

However, it is not as if the PA has been infructuous (pointless or unnecessary). GHG emissions in 2030 based on policies in place (established, arranged; in order) were projected (estimate, predict, speculate, calculate, indicate) to increase by 16% at the time of the adoption (acceptance, approval, endorsement, promotion, support, backing) of the PA. Today, the projected increase is 3%. To keep temperatures below 1.5°C, annual emissions must reduce every year, until 2030, by 8.7%. What the report says is that the world collectively (as a group, as a whole; generally) emitted 57.4 billion tonnes in 2022, an increase of 1.2% over 2021. The pandemic (the worldwide spread of a new disease; The illness spreads around the world and typically affects a large number of people across a wide area) saw 4.7% drop in emissions but the projections (prediction, indication, forecast, prognosis, speculation, calculation (of future events or trends)) for 2023 suggest that the globe is nearly back to pre-pandemic (before the pandemic) emission levels. The consequences of the globe’s tardiness (belatedness, unpunctuality, lateness/delay) are writ large (very clear, more obvious). As of October this year, 86 days were recorded with temperatures over 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. September was the hottest recorded month ever, with global average temperatures 1.8°C above pre-industrial levels. In terms of (with regard to, regarding, concerning, with reference to, in connection with) solutions, the report repeats sage (wise, sensible, astute, thoughtful, insightful, profound, prudent) advice that has been offered for years: the richest countries and those historically responsible for gobbling (use a large amount of something very quickly; seize upon something in a quick and eager way) sparse (insufficient, inadequate, scanty, meagre, paltry) atmospheric capacity for carbon must commit to greater and faster reductions. While legalese (a form of legal writing that makes policies difficult to understand) and nit-picking (fault-finding, criticism, complaining) have been characteristic (aspect, feature, trait, attribute, quality) of climate summits (meeting, conference, conclave (international meeting/conference of heads of state/government)), precious little time remains for the world to get its act together.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.countdown (noun)

Hindi Meaning - उल्टी गिनती
English Meaning - a period of time leading up to a significant event.

2.carbon emission (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कार्बन उत्सर्जन
English Meaning - the release of carbon into the atmosphere.

3.strive (verb)

Hindi Meaning - प्रयास करना
English Meaning - try, try hard, aim, aspire, seek, struggle, make every effort.

4.consequence (noun)

Hindi Meaning - परिणाम
English Meaning - result, outcome, ramification, repercussion, aftermath.

5.breach (verb)

Hindi Meaning - उल्लंघन
English Meaning - contravene, offend, break, violate, fail to comply with, disobey, defy, encroach on, trespass on, infringe on, obtrude on.

6.time (verb)

Hindi Meaning - समय
English Meaning - schedule, plan, arrange or organize (an event) to happen at a specific time.

7.talks (noun)

Hindi Meaning - वार्ता
English Meaning - discussion, discourse, debate, dialogue, deliberation, negotiation, parley.

8.reiterate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - दोहराना
English Meaning - say something again; say again, repeat, retell, restate, iterate, recapitulate.

9.as far as (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - जहां तक
English Meaning - to the extent that.

10.pre-industrial level (noun)

Hindi Meaning - पूर्व-औद्योगिक स्तर
English Meaning - In principle, ‘pre-industrial levels’ could refer to any period of time before the start of the industrial revolution. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C uses the reference period 1850–1900 to represent pre-industrial temperature.

11.consensus (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सर्वसम्मति
English Meaning - an idea or opinion that is shared by all the people in a group, agreement, concurrence.

12.fossil fuel (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जीवाश्म ईंधन
English Meaning - non renewable resources (or fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas are formed from the buried/deposited organic materials).

13.promise (noun)

Hindi Meaning - वादा
English Meaning - assurance, guarantee, pledge, vow.

14.credible (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - विश्वसनीय
English Meaning - acceptable, trustworthy, reliable, dependable; believable, plausible, reasonable.

15.optimistic (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - आशावादी
English Meaning - reassuring, favourable, encouraging, promising, hopeful.

16.alarming (adjective)

English Meaning - worrying, disturbing, shocking, distressing.

17.(carbon) emissions (noun)

English Meaning - Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; Carbon dioxide is also a greenhouse gas produced as a byproduct of human activities. Burning fossil fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas—is the number one source of global CO2 emissions.

18.net zero emissions/carbon neutrality (noun)

English Meaning - it means annual zero net CO2 emissions; Carbon neutrality means every ton of anthropogenic (human-caused or influenced) CO2 emitted is compensated with an equivalent amount of CO2 removed (e.g. via carbon sink or carbon sequestration).

19.Broken Record (noun)

English Meaning - Released on November 20, 2023, the Emissions Gap Report 2023: Broken Record - Temperatures hit new highs, yet world fails to cut emissions (again) finds that the world is heading for a temperature rise far above the Paris Agreement goals unless countries deliver more than they have promised. The report is the 14th edition in a series that brings together many of the world’s top climate scientists to look at future trends in greenhouse gas emissions and provide potential solutions to the challenge of global warming.

20.pun (noun)

English Meaning - a type of joke or a humorous use of a word that has several meanings; wordplay, play on words, double meaning.

21.greenhouse gas (GHGs) (noun)

English Meaning - heat-trapping gas; a gas (such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, etc.) in the atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation, causing the greenhouse effect and warming of Earth’s temperature.

22.ceiling (noun)

English Meaning - limit, cap, upper limit, limitation.

23.Paris Agreement/Accord (PA) (noun)

English Meaning - The Paris Agreement builds upon the Convention (agreement) and for the first time brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with enhanced support to assist developing countries to do so. The Paris Agreement central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

24.tardy (adjective)

English Meaning - late, delayed, behind schedule/time.

25.account for (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - constitute, comprise, form, compose, make up, represent.

26.reliance (noun)

English Meaning - dependence.

27.result in (verb)

English Meaning - lead to, cause, bring on, bring about, give rise to, produce.

28.overshoot (verb)

English Meaning - go beyond, go a little further than, pass over (a limit); overrun, overreach, overpass.

29.shave (verb)

English Meaning - reduce, cut, lessen, decrease, bring down.

30.scenario (noun)

English Meaning - situation, setting, background, context.

31.likelihood (noun)

English Meaning - chance, possibility, prospect.

32.infructuous (adjective)

English Meaning - pointless or unnecessary.

33.in place (phrase)

English Meaning - established, arranged; in order.

34.project (verb)

English Meaning - estimate, predict, speculate, calculate, indicate.

35.adoption (noun)

English Meaning - acceptance, approval, endorsement, promotion, support, backing.

36.projected (adjective)

English Meaning - estimated, predicted, speculated, calculated, indicated.

37.collectively (adverb)

English Meaning - as a group, as a whole; generally.

38.pandemic (noun)

English Meaning - the worldwide spread of a new disease; The illness spreads around the world and typically affects a large number of people across a wide area.

39.projection (noun)

English Meaning - prediction, indication, forecast, prognosis, speculation, calculation (of future events or trends).

40.pre-pandemic (noun)

English Meaning - before the pandemic.

41.tardiness (noun)

English Meaning - belatedness, unpunctuality, lateness/delay.

42.writ large (phrase)

English Meaning - very clear, more obvious.

43.in terms of (phrase)

English Meaning - with regard to, regarding, concerning, with reference to, in connection with.

44.sage (adjective)

English Meaning - wise, sensible, astute, thoughtful, insightful, profound, prudent.

45.gobble (verb)

English Meaning - use a large amount of something very quickly; seize upon something in a quick and eager way.

46.sparse (adjective)

English Meaning - insufficient, inadequate, scanty, meagre, paltry.

47.legalese (noun)

English Meaning - a form of legal writing that makes policies difficult to understand.

48.nit-picking (noun)

English Meaning - fault-finding, criticism, complaining.

49.characteristic (noun)

English Meaning - aspect, feature, trait, attribute, quality.

50.summit (noun)

English Meaning - meeting, conference, conclave (international meeting/conference of heads of state/government).

51.get one’s act together (phrase)

English Meaning - get organized yourself to do something effectively; recover/regain control of oneself, get a grip/hold on oneself.