The UN Environmental Programme has acknowledged that the 1.5°C warming target from the 2015 Paris Agreement is no longer viable, shifting focus to limiting the duration and magnitude of how much we exceed that threshold. Achieving this will require drastic emissions cuts and the removal of hundreds of gigatonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere before the century ends. The current strong El Niño event has likely pushed temperatures over the limit under most measurement baselines.
Background
The 2015 Paris Agreement committed nearly all countries to limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Recent data shows global temperatures are approaching or have briefly exceeded this threshold amid rising emissions and a strong El Niño event.
- Source
- Ars Technica
- Published
- Oct 22, 2026 at 07:15 PM
- Score
- 7.0 / 10