United in Science is an annual, multi-organization, high-level compilation of the latest weather, climate and water-related sciences and services for sustainable development. At the half-time point of the 2030 Agenda, the science is clear – the planet is far off track from meeting its global climate goals:
- There has been very limited progress in reducing the emissions gap for 2030 – the gap between the emissions reductions promised by countries and the emissions reductions needed to achieve the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. Current mitigation policies will lead to global warming of around 2.8 °C over this century compared to pre-industrial levels.
- Fossil fuel CO2 emissions increased by 1% globally in 2022 compared to 2021, and global atmospheric concentrations of CO2 continue to increase.
- July 2023 was the hottest month on record, and global average sea-surface temperatures reached record-high levels.
Urgent and ambitious mitigation and adaptation action is needed. Every fraction of a degree and ton of CO2 matters to limit global warming and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
