UNEP report warns of 2.6C warming due to US exit from Paris Agreement

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warns in its annual Emissions Gap Report that the United States' withdrawal from the Paris Agreement threatens to significantly increase global warming. Even if all other nations fully implement their current climate plans, the Earth is projected to be 2.6 degrees Celsius warmer by the end of this century compared to mid-19th-century levels.

This forecast is more pessimistic than last year's estimate of 2.3 to 2.5 degrees, which included American commitments. If countries fulfill their less concrete "net-zero" intentions, warming could potentially be limited to 2.1 degrees, though this still exceeds the Paris Agreement goals of staying well below 2 degrees and preferably under 1.5 degrees.

Despite these warnings, UNEP notes there are "more opportunities than ever" to accelerate sustainable development. Renewable energy, particularly solar power, is growing seven times faster than policymakers anticipated in 2015. To limit warming to just 0.2 or 0.3 degrees above the 1.5-degree threshold, global emissions must drop by 18 percent by 2030 and 69 percent by 2040, requiring a rapid overhaul of global energy systems.