UN Warns Current Climate Pledges Fall Short of Global Emissions Targets
(MENAFN) Existing national climate commitments are insufficient to deliver the emissions reductions required to return global warming to the 1.5C threshold by the end of the century, with current pledges expected to lower greenhouse gas emissions by just 11%-15% by 2035, according to a United Nations warning issued Wednesday.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), in its Emissions Gap Report 2026, said global emissions must decline by 18% by 2030, 45% by 2035 and 69% by 2040 compared with 2025 levels. These reductions would help keep peak warming around 1.7C-1.8C before potentially bringing temperatures back to 1.5C or lower by 2100.
However, the report estimates that fully implementing countries’ existing climate pledges would deliver emissions cuts of only 5%-8% by 2030 and 11%-15% by 2035.
The assessment also warned that current government policies could result in global temperatures rising by 2.8C over the course of this century. If countries fulfill all their national climate commitments, warming could be limited to 2.6C.
Even if additional net-zero targets are achieved alongside existing national pledges, projected warming would still reach approximately 2.1C, UNEP said.
"Every additional fraction of a degree and additional year of warming above 1.5C increases climate impacts and risks, such as the deadly floods, heatwaves and wildfires that have plagued many nations this year," UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said in the report.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized that surpassing the 1.5C limit should not lead to abandoning efforts to reverse the warming trend.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), in its Emissions Gap Report 2026, said global emissions must decline by 18% by 2030, 45% by 2035 and 69% by 2040 compared with 2025 levels. These reductions would help keep peak warming around 1.7C-1.8C before potentially bringing temperatures back to 1.5C or lower by 2100.
However, the report estimates that fully implementing countries’ existing climate pledges would deliver emissions cuts of only 5%-8% by 2030 and 11%-15% by 2035.
The assessment also warned that current government policies could result in global temperatures rising by 2.8C over the course of this century. If countries fulfill all their national climate commitments, warming could be limited to 2.6C.
Even if additional net-zero targets are achieved alongside existing national pledges, projected warming would still reach approximately 2.1C, UNEP said.
"Every additional fraction of a degree and additional year of warming above 1.5C increases climate impacts and risks, such as the deadly floods, heatwaves and wildfires that have plagued many nations this year," UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said in the report.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized that surpassing the 1.5C limit should not lead to abandoning efforts to reverse the warming trend.
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