Almost every government in the world isn’t doing enough to cut greenhouse gas emissions, making it likely global temperatures will rise beyond the tipping point of 1.5 degrees Celsius in coming years, a new report said Wednesday.
Scientists have said keeping the planet’s warming within 1.5 C is key to staving off the worst impacts of climate change. Global emissions must be halved by 2030 to keep that target in sight, but governments are nowhere near that reduction, according to the nonprofit group Climate Action Tracker.
Collectively, governments must cut 20 billion to 23 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide by the end of this decade. The U.S. and U.K. have said they want to keep alive the chance of limiting warming to 1.5 C from pre-industrial levels. But of the countries analyzed, only Gambia has set ambitious-enough policies, the report said.