World will overshoot 1.5C climate goal, UN says

By Kate Abnett and Simon Jessop

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -The world has failed to meet its main climate change target of limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and will likely breach this threshold in the next decade, the United Nations’ Environment Programme said on Tuesday.

The annual Emissions Gap report said because of countries’ slow action to reduce planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions, it was now clear that the world would exceed the core target of the 2015 Paris Agreement – at least temporarily.

“This will be difficult to reverse – requiring faster and bigger additional reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to minimize overshoot,” UNEP said.

‘WE CAN NO LONGER TOTALLY AVOID IT’

Lead report author Anne Olhoff said deep emissions cuts now could delay when