World Set to Breach Paris Climate Goals Despite Pledges, Says Report

The world has failed to meet its primary climate target of limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Instead, it is on track to limit global warming by as much as 2.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 degrees Fahrenheit) this century—far below what is needed to put a check on climate crisis despite an array of pledges, a Emissions Gap Report published by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on November 4.

The report also warned that the world is “very likely” to exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius mark – an internationally agreed-upon target set under the Paris Agreement – within the next decade. It emphasised that the overshoot must be limited through faster and bigger reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to minimise climate risks and damages and return to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100. However, achieving this remains challenging. With the policies currently in place, the world is heading for up to 2.8 degrees Celsius of warming.

“Nations have had three attempts to deliver promises made under the Paris Agreement, and each time they have landed off target,” UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen stated in the report.

“While national climate plans have delivered some progress, it is nowhere near fast enough, which is why we still need unprecedented emission cuts in an increasingly tight window, with an increasingly challenging geopolitical backdrop,” she added.

World Missing Climate Targets

The findings come ahead of the UN climate conference in Brazil, COP30, where the global failure so far to tackle the crisis will be under scrutiny. Global emissions grew 2.3% in 2024 compared to the 2023 levels, an increase driven by India followed by China, Russia and Indonesia, the report noted.

According to United Nations data, the Group o f 20 (G20) major economies account for a large majority of global greenhouse gas emissions, with estimates around 78%. The report further added that governments and businesses have an important role to play in supporting the necessary lifestyle changes by putting in place the right policies, infrastructure and incentives.

Meanwhile, the United States under President Donald Trump has moved away from its climate commitments, and the country’s planned withdrawal from the Paris Agreement will be official early next year.