United Nations Report Says Earth Will Pass the 1.5-Degree Warming Limit
Sam and Leah explain why the United Nations Environment Programme's annual Emissions Gap Report concludes that Earth will pass the 2015 Paris Agreement's 1.5-degree Celsius warming limit within the next few years, how current national climate plans point toward 2.6 to 2.8 degrees Celsius of warming this century, and how steep pollution cuts, rapid growth in solar and wind electricity, and pulling carbon dioxide back out of the air could still bring temperatures back down to 1.5 degrees by 2100.
Show notes
In this episode
- 0:01 Opening
- 0:18 United Nations report says Earth will pass the 1.5-degree warming limit
- 4:52 Recap and outro
Sources and context
- United Nations report says Earth will pass the 1.5-degree warming limit: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) — New UNEP report lays out the emission cuts needed to return to 1.5°C and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) — Emissions Gap Report 2026: The Point of Return and United Nations Regional Information Centre (UNRIC) — Climate: The 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement is no longer viable and UN News — Climate change: 1.5°C limit will be breached, UN environment agency warns and Carbon Brief — UNEP: Opportunity has been lost to meet 1.5C warming limit without overshoot
