Climate pledges still ‘nowhere near’ enough for 1.5°C: UN

“DISAPPOINTING”

But only 24 countries, of 193, had updated their plans at the time of the report, which Stiell said was “disappointing”.

“Government decisions and actions must reflect the level of urgency, the gravity of the threats we are facing, and the shortness of the time we have remaining to avoid the devastating consequences of runaway climate change,” he said.

He called on governments to revisit and strengthen their carbon cutting plans in line with the Paris temperature goals before the UN climate meeting, which will be held from Nov 6 to 18 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Nations are meeting in the shadow of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and cascading global crises of hunger, energy prices and living costs, exacerbated by extreme weather.

Scientists have warned that any rise above 1.5 degrees Celsius risks the collapse of ecosystems and the triggering of irreversible shifts in the climate system.

In the last year alone, the world has seen unprecedented floods, crop-withering heatwaves and wildfires across four continents.

With the impacts slamming hardest into countries least responsible for fossil fuel emissions, calls have grown louder for richer polluters to pay “loss and damage” to vulnerable nations.

In a landmark report this year on climate impacts and vulnerabilities, the UN’s 195-nation Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that time had nearly run out to ensure a “liveable future” for all.

That report was signed off by the same governments that will return to negotiations in Egypt.