UN Warns Earth Is on Track for 2.8°C Warming as Climate Pollution Keeps Rising

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at a climate event

The planet is on track to warm by about 2.8 degrees Celsius this century, the United Nations warned in a new report released on October 21 — a path that could bring massive sea-level rise and the mass extinction of plants and animals.

For the first time, the annual report admits that the world's lowest climate targets are now out of reach. Still, it says warming can be held below 2 degrees Celsius if global greenhouse-gas emissions fall by about 25 percent in the next decade. Right now, countries are far behind that goal. Only about two-thirds of nations have submitted updated plans to cut emissions, and even if every one of them follows through, the world would manage just a 15 percent cut.

The report also highlights a significant increase in climate pollution from the United States, adding to the pressure on the world's biggest economy ahead of another round of global climate talks. "Every fraction of a degree matters," Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said — and this year's numbers show how little time is left.

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