A five-year delay to decarbonization efforts could see global average temperatures rising to 3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and result in a 55% fall in global average spending, a report by consultancy Wood Mackenzie showed.The impact of a five-year delay to a move to low-carbon energy sources could result annual average spending to fall to $1.7 trillion, 55% lower than what Wood Mackenzie estimates is needed to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
At UN climate talks last year, countries agreed to begin reducing global consumption of fossil fuels so as to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. They had already agreed to keep global warming to within 1.5C above pre-industrial temperatures.