According to the 17th edition of the Emissions Gap Report (EGR) 2026 titled “The Point of Return” released by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), temporarily exceeding the 1.5 °C global warming limit is unavoidable without urgent reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The report states that global GHG emissions reached a total of 58.4 gigatons of CO2 equivalent (Gt CO2e) in 2025, reflecting a decline of just 0.1 Gt CO2e from 2024 levels.