UN asks nations to prepare climate plans by March

The United Nations has asked member nations to submit their plans on greenhouse emissions reduction to prepare for the next global conference scheduled in Paris in December. The directive comes at a time when NASA and NOAA scientists said 2014 was the hottest year recorded, with the world registering an average increase of 0.60°C above the 20th century average. They had attributed the temperature increase carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions released because of human activity.

Christiana Figueres, head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, said the Paris meeting will be a chance to get on track “towards a deep de-carbonisation of the global economy, achieving climate neutrality in the second half of the century”.

Governments have agreed to submit their plans by March 31 to cut carbon emissions through man-made activities. The secretariat has launched a website to collect the national plans which will be available to the public.