UN warns current climate policies to warm Earth by 3.1C

Under current pledges to take future action, temperatures would still rise between 2.6 C (4.7 F) and 2.8 C (5 F) by 2100, the report found.

Current climate policies will result in global warming of more than 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century, according to a United Nations report, more than twice the rise agreed to nearly a decade ago.

The annual Emissions Gap report, which takes stock of countries' promises to tackle climate change compared with what is needed, finds the world faces as much as 3.1 C (5.6 F) of warming above pre-industrial levels by 2100 if governments do not take greater action on slashing planet-warming emissions.

"We're teetering on a planetary tight rope," U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a speech. "Either leaders bridge the emissions gap, or we plunge headlong into climate disaster".

Global greenhouse gas emissions rose by 1.3% between 2022 and 2023, to a new high of 57.1 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, the report said.

Under current pledges to take future action, temperatures would still rise between 2.6 C (4.7 F) and 2.8 C (5 F) by 2100, the report found.

"If we look at the progress towards 2030 targets, especially of the G20 member states ... they have not made a lot of progress towards their current climate targets for 2030," said Anne Olhoff, chief scientific editor of the report.

The world has currently warmed by about 1.3 C (2.3 F).