The UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2026 concludes that exceeding 1.5°C is now unavoidable, making immediate emissions reductions and large-scale carbon dioxide removal increasingly critical.
Global emissions must fall 18% by 2030, 45% by 2035 and 69% by 2040 from 2025 levels.
Returning warming to 1.5°C could require roughly 320 billion tonnes of permanent carbon dioxide removal this century worldwide.
The Point of Return
UNEP says deep emissions cuts must now be paired with large-scale carbon removal.