U.N.: The Fight Against Global Warming Has Failed

The fight against global warming has failed. That is the conclusion of a report published today (Wednesday) by the United Nations. The report stated that "a decade after the Paris Agreement, in which countries around the world committed to trying to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the world has failed and is expected to cross the warming threshold within just a few years."

In the 141-page U.N. report, 50 scientists emphasized that the new climate reality is alarming. According to them, the world will no longer be able to prevent crossing the 1.5-degree warming threshold, so the goal is now different: to reduce the exceedance as much as possible, and later try to bring global temperatures back down.

The report recommends taking action to sharply reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. It also says that steps must be taken to remove some of the carbon dioxide that has already accumulated in the atmosphere. The scientists propose that countries around the world work to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 55% by 2035 and reach near-zero emissions by the middle of the century.

The scientists also warn of changes that cannot be reversed once they begin. These include the possible collapse of parts of the Amazon rainforest, the rapid breakup of ice sheets at the poles, and changes in ocean currents that carry heat northward from equatorial regions.