Why in News
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has released a new report titled “Limiting Overshoot”, warning that keeping global warming within the 1.5°C limit set under the Paris Agreement is no longer possible.
Key Highlights
- The 1.5°C threshold has already been crossed multiple times in recent years.
- Even if countries fully implement their stated climate policies, global warming could reach around 1.8°C.
- If countries continue with their current policies, warming could peak at around 2.6°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100.
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for keeping the period and level of warming above 1.5°C as small and short as possible.
- The report points out that climate adaptation has limits. Once certain climate conditions are lost, they cannot easily be brought back.
- Every additional fraction of a degree of warming can make it harder to deal with its effects.
- The report stresses that preventing further warming is easier than trying to reverse it later.
- It also calls for climate action beyond reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.
Focus on Methane Emissions
The UNEP report highlights methane reduction as one of the quickest ways to slow global warming in the short term.
- Cutting methane emissions can provide relatively quick climate benefits.
- The Global Methane Pledge has already created a framework for reducing methane emissions.
- However, its implementation has not yet reached the required pace.
- India is not a member of the Global Methane Pledge.
Climate Change Impacts
The report comes at a time when climate-related events are becoming more visible across different parts of the world.
- Severe heat waves are being reported in Europe and America.
- Polar ice is melting, contributing to rising sea levels.
- Floods and cyclones are becoming major concerns in parts of Asia.
- Climate-related disasters are also increasing pressure on vulnerable communities and ecosystems.
What is the 1.5°C Target?
- The 1.5°C target comes from the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit the rise in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.
- The latest UNEP report warns that temporarily crossing this level, known as climate overshoot, could make future climate action more difficult and costly.
