World must cut emissions by 18% in four years ‘to find our way back’, UN says

Key Points:

• The UN Environment Programme (Unep) warns that global carbon emissions must be cut by 18% by 2030 and nearly 45% by 2035 to avoid catastrophic climate overshoot, though limiting warming to 1.5C is no longer feasible.
• Despite long-term climate targets, countries have failed to implement sufficient short-term actions, with current policies projecting a temperature rise of 2.8C, far exceeding the Paris Agreement goals.
• The US and other major fossil fuel producers are criticized for undermining global efforts, with weak commitments from governments at the recent Cop30 summit and a lack of political will slowing progress despite advances in renewable energy technology.
• The UN's global stocktake mechanism, designed to assess emissions targets in 2028, faces delays due to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change not setting a report timetable, risking further stalling of climate action.
• Experts emphasize that closing the emissions gap is a matter of political will rather than scientific uncertainty, highlighting methane reduction as a key near-term strategy to limit global warming.