UN: World will overshoot 1.5C climate goal
11/4/2025 7:23:05 PM
The world has failed to meet its main climate change target of limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and will likely breach this threshold in the next decade, the United Nations' Environment Programme said on Tuesday.
The annual Emissions Gap report said because of countries' slow action to reduce planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions, it was now clear that the world would exceed the core target of the 2015 Paris Agreement - at least temporarily.
"This will be difficult to reverse – requiring faster and bigger additional reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to minimize overshoot," UNEP said.
WE CAN NO LONGER TOTALLY AVOID IT
Lead report author Anne Olhoff said deep emissions cuts now could delay when the overshoot happens, "but we can no longer totally avoid it".
The 2015 Paris Agreement commits countries to limit the global average temperature rise to 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and to aim for 1.5°C.
Yet governments' latest pledges to cut emissions in future, if met, would see the world face 2.3-2.5°C of warming, UNEP said.
That's around 0.3°C less warming than the U.N.'s projection a year ago - indicating that new emissions-cutting plans announced this year by countries including top CO2 emitter China have failed to substantially close the gap.
China pledged in September to cut emissions by 7-10% from their peak by 2035. Analysts note the country tends to set modest targets and exceed them.
The annual Emissions Gap report said because of countries' slow action to reduce planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions, it was now clear that the world would exceed the core target of the 2015 Paris Agreement - at least temporarily.
"This will be difficult to reverse – requiring faster and bigger additional reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to minimize overshoot," UNEP said.
WE CAN NO LONGER TOTALLY AVOID IT
Lead report author Anne Olhoff said deep emissions cuts now could delay when the overshoot happens, "but we can no longer totally avoid it".
The 2015 Paris Agreement commits countries to limit the global average temperature rise to 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and to aim for 1.5°C.
Yet governments' latest pledges to cut emissions in future, if met, would see the world face 2.3-2.5°C of warming, UNEP said.
That's around 0.3°C less warming than the U.N.'s projection a year ago - indicating that new emissions-cutting plans announced this year by countries including top CO2 emitter China have failed to substantially close the gap.
China pledged in September to cut emissions by 7-10% from their peak by 2035. Analysts note the country tends to set modest targets and exceed them.