World Can No Longer Avoid Overshooting 1.5-Degree Limit, Warns Secretary-General on Launch of New Emissions Gap Report

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the 2026 Emissions Gap Report, launched in Nairobi today:

The world can no longer avoid overshooting the 1.5°C limit. And the consequences are already devastating. Deadly floods. Brutal heatwaves. Raging wildfires. Lost lives. Crippled economies. Deepening inequalities. And those least responsible are suffering first and worst.

But overshoot is not surrender. We can still keep it as small and as short as possible —and bring temperatures back below 1.5°C before the end of the century.

The new Emissions Gap Report from the United Nations Environment Programme shows us what it will take: Cutting global greenhouse gas emissions by 18 per cent by 2030 and 45 per cent by 2035 — compared with 2025 levels. That’s close to 6 per cent every single year until 2035.

Yet emissions remain at record levels. And national climate plans and current policies fall dangerously short — pointing to 2.6 to 2.8 degrees of warming.

But we have the tools to change course — and pull back from the brink. Renewables are now the cheapest source of new electricity in most of the world. Solar power deployment has grown seven times faster than expected a decade ago.

Climate policies are already showing results. The emissions gap is now a leadership gap. And the world is running out of time and excuses to close it. Governments must go much further and faster. Accelerate clean energy and electrification across every sector.

Adopt credible road maps to transition away from fossil fuels — with clear timelines and protection for affected workers and communities.

Invest in grids and storage. Improve energy efficiency. Cut methane emissions. Halt and reverse deforestation. And deliver on their climate commitments — then over-deliver.

The G20 must lead. The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities must apply, but all countries, especially the big emitters, must do more.

And developed countries must mobilize the affordable finance for developing countries — to accelerate the transition and protect people from worsening impacts.

We must lower the cost of capital, expand concessional lending and ease debt burdens that choke investment.

Climate justice demands nothing less. Every fraction of a degree matters. Every year of delay makes the way back steeper. Let us close the gap — now.