UN Report: US is the Main Reason for Setbacks in the Fight Against Climate Change

According to an update on climate calculations published by the United Nations Environment Programme, humanity is losing ground in the fight against climate change and heading toward a warmer world than experts predicted last year. The report points to the official withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement and its increasing emissions among the primary reasons for this situation.

According to the update announced by the United Nations Environment Programme on Wednesday, even if all countries fulfill their promises to reduce heat-trapping emissions, the Earth will warm by approximately another 2.2 Fahrenheit (1.2 Celsius) above current temperatures. This rate points to a result about 0.2 Fahrenheit (0.1 Celsius) higher than the projections of the same scientific team last year. The report stated that the official withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement and revised estimates for past emissions led to a worse outcome.

While it was stated that the other top 20 major economies reduced carbon pollution or slowed the rate of increase in carbon dioxide from burning coal, oil, and gas, the U.S. was blamed for its rising emissions last year. According to the released data, the increase in the U.S. reached 133 megatons of CO2 equivalent, and this rise stemmed from increased electricity demand and a recovery in coal power generation. Of the 400 million tons of carbon dioxide added in 2025 by 124 countries that increased their emissions, 33% came from the U.S.

According to new calculations, if countries meet their commitments, the world will be 2.6 degrees Celsius warmer by 2100 compared to pre-industrial times. If current trends continue, the temperature increase will reach 2.8 degrees Celsius. These figures leave behind the 2015 Paris climate pact's goal of well below 2 degrees Celsius and preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius. The world is currently at a level about 1.4 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial times.

While UN officials acknowledged that limiting the 1.5-degree target is no longer possible, they are focusing on hopes of limiting warming to about 1.8 degrees Celsius and then pulling carbon dioxide from the air to lower the temperature to 1.5 degrees. Anne Olhoff, director of the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre and lead author of the report, stated that the change in U.S. policy will add 0.1 degrees Celsius to global temperatures by the end of the century.