The United Nations' environmental body has come up with a ceiling in global greenhouse gas emissions level in order to prevent a dangerous climate change as governments continue to step up their efforts to fight global warming.

In its fourth annual emissions report, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) said it had raised its assessment ceiling at  the level at which global greenhouse gas emissions must peak to avoid a catastrophic outcome that threatens human existence.

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The report, which covered 2010-2013 assessments, said emissions must not exceed 44 billion tons in 2020 for the world to limit global warming to 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F).

UNEP said that with the rising level of world emissions today, which is way higher than the required level, it has since last year downplayed its attention on 2020 as a make or break year for emission reductions.

In the Emissions Gap report that was released Friday, UNEP said the world can still reach the required level of 2 degrees even with the 52 billion tons by 2020, which is still lower than the level today.

The UNEP report assumes that greenhouse gas emissions reductions will drastically plunge faster after 2030 compared to its previous assessments.

UNEP chief scientist Jacqueline McGlade explained the report, saying that their earlier assessments were  not  inaccurate but were based on gas emission scenarios that 'are no longer realistic.'

Political analysts said the change in assessments was made to put political pressure by showing that the 2-degree goal was still attainable as countries work double time with the UN on the latter's climate change agreement.

Critics said the report leaves a questionable impression in that despite the rising greenhouse gas emissions, the world can still manage to find ways to reach the targeted goal of 2C degrees.

The targeted goal of 2 degrees C was adopted by the United Nations during a climate change summit in 2010.

But environmental activists have said that the 2 degrees goal is the level where climate becomes unmanageable, bringing on droughts, and fast-rising sea levels.

TagsUNEP, greenhouse gas emissions, global warming