But countries are failing to translate their long-term targets on reducing emissions into short-term actions, a report on the \u201cemissions gap\u201d between climate goals and policies<\/a> has found.<\/p>\n Global carbon output appears to have stalled: the emission levels in 2025 were broadly similar to those of the previous year. But Unep analysts were wary of calling it a peak or plateau, given the vast uncertainties of geopolitics and an increased reliance on fossil fuels, despite strong growth in renewable energy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cutting greenhouse gases by 18% by 2030, and by 45% by 2035, would yield a good chance of limiting temperature rises to 1.7C above preindustrial levels. This would still allow events such as the record heatwaves of the last few months<\/a> to become frequent and common, but could help prevent them from getting drastically worse.<\/p>\n Governments were warned for years that time was running out, said Inger Andersen, the executive director of Unep. \u201c[We used to say] there\u2019s still an opportunity if we make this herculean effort [to stay within the 1.5C limit],\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s now clear the herculean effort was not made. We procrastinated, and now we are saying this window has closed.\u201d<\/p>\n Nevertheless, she urged countries to keep the 1.5C goal \u2013 the centrepiece of the Paris climate agreement. \u201cWe can make the overshoot as brief and as short as possible. It\u2019s not time to throw in the towel and give up. This is about how to find our way back, as shortly and quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Chart showing the rise in global greenhouse gas emissions over recent decades.<\/a><\/p>\n Under Donald Trump, the US \u2013 the world\u2019s second biggest emitter, after China \u2013 has withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement<\/a> and is threatening to reverse<\/a> its longstanding trend of falling greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n Bill Hare, the chief executive of the Climate Analytics thinktank, said: \u201cAll governments have a job to do, but in particular it is time for major fossil fuel producers such as the US and Saudi Arabia, which produce 20-25% of fossil fuels globally, to stop playing politics and face the scientific reality. Right now they are looking at the fire, denying it exists and pouring more petrol on it, while their own citizens increasingly face searing heat, wildfires and other impacts.\u201d<\/p>\n Other countries appear to have been affected by US intransigence \u2013 pledges made last year on greenhouse gases were noticeably weak, according to UNEP analysis. At the Cop30 climate summit in Brazil last November<\/a>, governments were supposed to make fresh commitments under the Paris agreement to cut emissions. But the commitments made were nowhere near strong enough.<\/p>\n Even if all of those updated pledges were fulfilled, temperatures would still rise to 2.6C above preindustrial levels, according to Unep\u2019s projections, endangering life across swathes of the globe. Policy has also not kept up with pledges: on current policies around the world, temperatures would rise to 2.8C. Every five years of greenhouse gas emissions at current levels pushes up forecasts of global heating by 0.1C. Scientists also fear that the greater the margin by which we exceed 1.5C, the greater the likelihood of triggering tipping points in the climate system<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mohamed Adow, the director of the thinktank Power Shift Africa, said: \u201cThe tragedy is that we have the solutions within our grasp. Solar and wind power are growing far faster than anyone expected, yet governments are still failing to move away from fossil fuels quickly enough. The technology is racing ahead while political leadership is dragging its feet.\u201d<\/p>\n The shortfall in countries\u2019 commitments is supposed to be corrected under a Paris agreement mechanism called the \u201cglobal stocktake\u201d, an assessment of emissions targets next scheduled for 2028. But that has also been thrown into doubt: this week, the UN\u2019s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change failed to set a timetable<\/a> to publish its latest report before the global stocktake, which would prevent governments from assessing their progress against the latest science.<\/p>\n Johan Rockstr\u00f6m, the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and one of the world\u2019s leading climate scientists, said rows over the timing of IPCC reports must not be allowed to stall government action. \u201cIf all current national commitments are implemented, global emissions are projected to reach approximately 50 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually by 2035, when they should be below 35 gigatonnes. The science is already clear. Closing that gap is a question of political action, not a lack of scientific evidence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792625290_516_1920.jpg\")
How bad is Jackdaw gasfield approval for the climate? – The Latest<\/p>\n