The report highlights that Global warming is set to overshoot 1.5°C in the coming years due to high ongoing emissions.
- Current national policies and pledges project global peak temperatures reaching 1.8°C to over 2°C.
About Overshoot
- Climate "overshoot" is a multidecadal pathway where global warming temporarily exceeds 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels before declining back below that limit.
- This is by no means an acceptable or preferred pathway; it is simply the best remaining option.
Key Highlights of the Report
- Severe Impacts: Overshooting 1.5°C intensifies extreme heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, and sea-level rise.
- Tipping Points: Higher warming increases risks of irreversible damage, including ice sheet collapse, Amazon rainforest dieback, and Atlantic ocean circulation disruption.
- Socioeconomic Losses: Overshooting 1.5°C threatens Small Island Developing States (SIDS) habitability, impairs water security, and could reduce global food production by up to 14% by 2050.
Way Forward
- Deep Mitigation: Deliver immediate, rapid cuts to CO₂ and short-lived pollutants like methane to cap peak warming.
- Transformational Adaptation: Advance adaptation hand-in-hand with mitigation to protect vulnerable populations and ecosystems.
- Carbon Removal (CDR): Responsibly scale Carbon Dioxide Removal to achieve net-negative emissions, ensuring it complements rather than replaces direct emissions reductions.
