UN Says Breaching 1.5C Warming Limit Is 'Imminent and Unavoidable'
For the first time, the UN has declared that exceeding the Paris Agreement's 1.5C warming limit is "imminent and unavoidable." "We are now saying this window has closed, but we can open it again by making the overshoot as brief as possible," UN Environment Program Executive Director Inger Andersen said on a call with reporters. "This is about how to find a way back as shortly and as quickly as…
The UN has declared that exceeding the Paris Agreement's 1.5C warming limit is imminent and unavoidable, with this window closing but the overshoot period able to be minimized. According to the UN Environment Program, global greenhouse gas emissions would need to be significantly reduced by 2030, 2035, and 2040 to limit peak warming to between 1.7 and 1.8 degrees C, followed by a return to at or below 1.5 C by 2100.
This would require an 18% cut by 2030, 45% by 2035, and 69% by 2040, relative to 2025 levels, along with a tripling of renewable electricity capacity by 2035 and a major scaling up of carbon removal technologies. However, existing emissions reduction pledges would only yield a 5-to-8% emissions cut by 2030 and an 11-to-15% reduction by 2035, resulting in a peak warming of about 2.6 degrees C if followed.
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