UN says world will soon overshoot 1.5C target
Wednesday 2nd September 2026 on 08:01 in
Switzerland
The world is on track to exceed the 1.5 degree Celsius warming limit soon, the United Nations has acknowledged for the first time in a newly published report, SRF reported. The UN says the target must nevertheless be maintained and climate action strengthened.
Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, said global warming must be halted quickly. Temperatures must then be reduced through reforestation or the removal and storage of carbon dioxide in soil, she said.
The measures identified by researchers include a faster phaseout of fossil fuels, expanded renewable energy, a sharp reduction in methane emissions, and the protection of land, forests and oceans. They also call for carefully managed carbon dioxide removal from the air and its storage through reforestation or other methods.
The world is currently on a path towards warming of about 2.6 degrees compared with pre-industrial levels, according to the report. In the most optimistic scenario, rapid and comprehensive action could limit the peak to 1.8 degrees.
To prevent warming from exceeding 1.8 degrees, emissions would have to be halved within 10 years. Even then, temperatures would remain above 1.5 degrees for decades, scientists say.
“Now is the time to strengthen our climate protection efforts, not to abandon them,” Andersen said at the report’s presentation in Nairobi.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the searing heat, devastating wildfires and deadly floods seen this summer were a warning of what lies ahead.
Andersen warned that there would be no good outcomes if warming remained above 1.5 degrees. Some effects could occur abruptly, while others would intensify over time. Expected consequences include more extreme weather, the loss of ecosystems, and flooding in small island developing states and low-lying coastal cities.
The UN Environment Programme also expects severe damage to human health, food security, water supplies, nature, cities, infrastructure and the economy.