World hurtling to climate danger zone, brakes half-pulled

Temperatures on Earth will shoot past a key danger point unless greenhouse gas emissions fall faster than countries have committed, the world's top body of climate scientists said Monday, warning of the consequences of inaction but also noting hopeful signs of progress.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change revealed "a litany of broken climate promises" by governments and corporations, accusing them of stoking global warming by clinging to harmful fossil fuels.

"It is a file of shame, cataloguing the empty pledges that put us firmly on track towards an unlivable world," he said.

Governments agreed in the 2015 Paris accord to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) this century, ideally no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit). Yet temperatures have already increased by over 1.1C (2F) since pre-industrial times, resulting in measurable increases in disasters such flash floods, prolonged droughts, more intense hurricanes and longerburning wildfires, putting human lives in danger and costing governments hundreds of billions of dollars to confront.

"Projected global emissions from (national pledges) place limiting global warming to 1.5C beyond reach and make it harder after 2030 to limit warming to 2C," the panel said.

In other words, the report's co-chair, James Skea of Imperial College London, told The Associated Press: "If we continue acting as we are now, we're not even going to limit warming to 2 degrees, never mind 1.5 degrees."

Ongoing investments in fossil fuel infrastructure and clearing large swaths of forest for agriculture undermine the massive curbs in emissions needed to meet the Paris goal, the report found.

"To keep the 1.5-degree limit agreed in Paris within reach, we need to cut global emissions by 45% this decade," said Guterres. "But current climate pledges would mean a 14% increase in emissions."

In a summary negotiated with governments over the past two weeks, the panel concluded that returning warming to 1.5C by 2100 would require removing vast amounts of carbon dioxide - the main greenhouse gas - from the atmosphere. Many experts say this is unfeasible with current technologies. The report's authors said they had "high confidence" that unless countries step up their efforts, the planet will on average be 2.4C to 3.5C (4.3 to 6.3 F) warmer.