The UN alarm:“We are heading towards catastrophic warming.”Secretary General Guterres:“Drastic action is needed”

Increase from 2.5 to 2.9 degrees by 2100.The report before the Cop28 summit in Dubai

With current climate commitments made by countries around the world the planet is on a trajectory of catastrophic warming of 2.5 to 2.9 degrees by 2100.This was revealed by a report by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), published before the start of the COP28 summit which will be held in Dubai on 30 November.Faced with this alarm, the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres he said that "drastic action on the climate must be taken now" in the Saudi city, and warned that "we are off track" on global warming.“The leaders of the world can go no further,” he declared, denouncing a “failure of leadership, a betrayal of the most vulnerable and a huge missed opportunity.”

What has changed from the Paris agreements to today

The report notes that there has been progress since the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015.At the time of the agreement's adoption, greenhouse gas emissions in 2030, based on current policies, were expected to increase by 16%.Today the expected increase is 3%.However, projected greenhouse gas emissions for 2030 still need to fall by 28% for the 2°C path set by the Paris Agreement and by 42% for the 1.5°C path.The report analyzes how greater incisiveness on NDCs, Nationally Determined Contributions, (i.e. governments' promises) now expected for 2025, must reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2035 to levels consistent with the 2°C and 1°C paths, 5°C.The paper also examines the potential and risks of carbon dioxide removal methods, such as nature-based solutions and direct capture and storage of carbon in the air.