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World faces climate catastrophe, UN chief warns, as damning report released ahead of COP26

THE world is still on course for climate catastrophe, United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned today after the release of another damning report ahead of the Cop26 summit.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said that countries’ latest climate plans would deliver just a tiny percentage of the emissions cuts needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

It warned of “weak promises, not yet delivered” just days before representatives of world governments gather for the key UN climate summit in Glasgow, which has been described as a “last-chance saloon” for the planet.

But UNEP, which analysed 121 countries’ progress on the climate, said that even the most up-to-date and ambitious plans have the world on track for an average 2.7°C temperature rise this century.

“As world leaders prepare for Cop26, this report is another thundering wake-up call,” Mr Guterres said. “How many do we need?”

UNEP executive director Inger Andersen said: “To stand a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, we have eight years to almost halve greenhouse gas emissions.

“Eight years to make the plans, put in place the policies, implement them and ultimately deliver the cuts.

“The world has to wake up to the imminent peril we face as a species.”

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