UN says Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree target is out of reach

The world will not meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the UN says in its 2026 Emissions Gap Report, reported by SVT. Global temperatures are now expected to rise by 1.7 to 1.8 degrees compared with pre-industrial levels.

The UN says strong policies and extensive carbon storage could still help avert the worst consequences and potentially bring temperatures back down enough to reach the 1.5-degree target by the end of the century. But under current policies, the world risks warming by 2 to 3 degrees, the report says.

To change course, global emissions must fall by 18 per cent by 2030 compared with 2025, and by 45 per cent by 2035. The report also calls for forests to grow enough to absorb more carbon dioxide, and for major investment in carbon capture and storage, despite the method being considered risky and expensive.

The UN singled out the G20’s richer countries, which account for three-quarters of global emissions. In an interview with SVT, Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, said the EU had slowed some climate ambitions and should focus on long-term energy security through renewable energy.

The annual Emissions Gap Report, published by the UN Environment Programme, assesses countries’ climate pledges and compares expected emissions with the reductions needed to limit global warming to the goals agreed at the 2015 Paris climate conference.