Overview
- The UNEP report, released on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, says the planet is likely to cross the Paris Agreement 1.5°C threshold within the next few years and that avoidance is no longer a plausible global pathway.
- Even if countries fully implement current pledges and net‑zero targets, the report projects a peak near about 1.8°C while policies now in place point to roughly 2.6°C by 2100.
- UNEP urges an “overshoot, peak and decline” strategy focused on immediate, deep cuts to CO2 and methane and a fast phase‑out of fossil fuels, with carbon dioxide removal used later under strict governance.
- The report warns that any overshoot raises odds of severe impacts and irreversible tipping points such as ice‑sheet loss, Amazon degradation and disruption of major ocean circulation, with recent Himalayan glacier collapse cited as an illustration of growing risks.
- Authors and campaigners say carbon removal is costly, limited and not a substitute for cuts, and they call for closing the gap between pledges and policy while prioritizing finance, adaptation and justice for the most vulnerable.