November 19, 20255:05 AM ET
By Rebecca Hersher, Lauren Sommer

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For the past eight years, one of the primary objectives of the annual negotiations has been to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to the temperatures in the late 1800s. That temperature goal was established after a landmark international scientific report laid out the catastrophic effects of exceeding that amount of warming.

But that goal is no longer plausible, scientists say. Humanity has not cut planet-warming pollution quickly enough, and the planet will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, likely in the next decade, according to a recent United Nations report.

However, all is not lost. If countries can cut overall greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2035, scientists say the planet would quickly return to lower levels of warming.

"We must move much, much faster on both reductions of emissions and strengthening resilience," U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell told world leaders at COP30. Right now, countries are pursuing policies that would cut emissions by just 12% by 2035.

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