New Delhi/UN, November 5: India and China recorded the largest increases in greenhouse gas emissions last year, while the European Union was the only major emitter to cut output, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reported, highlighting a worsening climate crisis.
The Emissions Gap Report 2025, released on November 4, said GHG emissions from G20 countries make up 77 per cent of the global total. It added that several nations outside the G20 also showed significant increases in 2024. The report cautioned that, under current policies, global temperatures could rise as much as 2.8°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100, far exceeding the Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C.
“Even with full implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions, warming is projected at 2.3–2.5 degrees Celsius, slightly lower than last year’s 2.6–2.8 degrees Celsius estimate,” the report stated.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized the urgency, saying, “The path to a livable future gets steeper by the day… 1.5 degrees by the end of the century remains within reach. But only if we meaningfully increase our ambition.”
UNEP warned that a temporary overshoot above 1.5°C is now expected by the early 2030s. Rapid, near-term emission cuts are crucial to limit the overshoot and prevent long-term damages to lives, economies, and ecosystems. “Every fraction of a degree avoided reduces the escalation of losses, health impacts, and the risks of climate tipping points, which hit the poorest and most vulnerable hardest,” the report said.
The UN agency also highlighted the dangers of relying on carbon dioxide removal techniques, which are costly and uncertain. Minimizing overshoot now would reduce dependence on these risky interventions while keeping the 1.5°C goal achievable by 2100.
