2025 needs to be a year of accelerated global climate action according to the newly published Global Climate and Energy Outlook (GECO) 2024. The report finds that the world’s largest economies - collectively known as the G20 - are not on track to meet the goal of limiting global warming to ‘well below’ 2°C by the end of the century.

This stands in contrast to the commitment of all Parties to the Paris Agreement to limiting the increase in global average temperatures by the end of the century to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Crucially, countries also committed to pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C to avoid the most extreme effects of climate change. The report indicates a significant ambition gap to achieve this global target.

The report explains that current national pledges (nationally determined contributions, or NDCs) and long-term commitments are still insufficient to limit warming to 1.5°C by 2100.

Global emissions will peak this decade, before starting to reduce, putting the world on course for a 2.6°C global average temperature rise by 2100 under currently enacted policies. However, if countries fully implement their NDC targets, this increase could be limited to 2.3°C, and following through on mid-century decarbonisation commitments could further reduce it to 1.8°C.

However, to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, the world needs to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 56% compared with 2022 levels by 2035, building up to a 90% reduction by 2050.