The world is well on track to blow past a goal many countries have enshrined as the beating heart of global climate efforts: 1.5 degrees Celsius.
If current trends continue, “there is virtually no chance” of limiting global warming over the past 170 years to 1.5 degrees, according to the latest emissions gap report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Even in the most optimistic scenarios, where all countries deliver on their emission-cutting pledges, “there remains about a 3-in-4 chance that warming will exceed 1.5C,” it adds.
That temperature target has become the guidepost that countries use to craft their national climate plans. Efforts to cut climate pollution and build resilience are measured against it. Keeping it alive has become a rallying cry at consecutive global climate conferences among activists and officials.
But there’s been increasing pushback among some in the scientific community about the feasibility of that target since it would require immediate action in all countries and sectors and a massive scaling up of technology without delays or exorbitant costs.
