UN says 1.5C warming target will inevitably be exceeded

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 21 Oct, 17:20 · Archive

The UN Environment Programme says the 1.5-degree Celsius warming target from the Paris Climate Agreement will inevitably be surpassed.

The UN Environment Programme has reported that the global effort to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels has failed and the target will inevitably be surpassed. The focus has now shifted to limiting damage from warming. Current policies put the world on track for 2.8 degrees of warming by the end of the century, whilst meeting all nations' Paris Agreement commitments could reduce this to 2.6 degrees.

According to the UN, peak warming could be held to between 1.7 and 1.8 degrees with aggressive action, with the possibility of returning to 1.5 degrees by 2100. This would require greenhouse gas emissions to be cut by 18 per cent by 2030, 45 per cent by 2035 and 69 per cent by 2040, all compared to 2025 levels.

Iinger Andersen, UNEP executive director, said in a statement that every additional fraction of a degree and additional year of warming above 1.5 degrees increases climate impacts and risks such as deadly floods, heat waves and wildfires. UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said that 'overshoot is not surrender'. The report comes ahead of the COP31 climate summit scheduled for November in Turkey.

How it is being reported

• World set to breach 1.5°C warming limit set by Paris Climate AgreementThe UN is warning that global commitments to cut planet-heating emissions are falling far short of the Paris climate goals of 1.5 degrees Celsius warming – and put the world on course for 2.6C warming this century. The report by the United Nations Environment Programme lays bare the chasm between rhetoric and action when it comes to tackling global warming, and the challenge before political leaders at November's COP31 climate summit - set to take place next month in Turkey. Story by Emerald Maxwell.France 24 · 21 Oct, 16:56
• U.N. report says warming will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius targetThe global effort to slow warming to 1.5-degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels has failed, a report from the UN Environment Program said.UPI · 21 Oct, 16:16

In this story: UN Environment Programme · Paris Climate Agreement · Inger Andersen · Antonio Guterres · Turkey

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem