The complete and peer-reviewed State of the Global Climate 2026 report will be officially presented in March 2027, incorporating verified input from dozens of national meteorological and hydrological agencies worldwide.
Experts at UNEP say that the Emissions Gap Report 2026 does not abandon the 1.5°C goal. Instead it reframes the challenge: minimise the height and length of the overshoot and chart a credible return path.
As the federal government aggressively abdicates its traditional leadership role in climate science, the burden of addressing global warming is rapidly shifting to state and local governments, as well as the private sector.
Compounding the acceleration are insidious feedback mechanisms that PIK's research illuminates as potential game-changers. A March 2025 study from the institute projects that even low-to-moderate emission scenarios could unleash amplified heating over the next millennium.
The study, published this month in Nature Communications, Earth and Environment, says East Asian efforts to reduce atmospheric aerosols was likely to have accelerated global surface warming since around 2010.
While a single monthly reading above 6 per cent does not constitute a formal policy failure, the persistent upward trajectory since early 2026 leaves monetary authorities with little room to manoeuvre.
The authors stress that individual knowledge alone is insufficient. Food environments – marketing, pricing, availability and access – must support healthier choices.
While a single monthly reading above 6 per cent does not constitute a formal policy failure, the persistent upward trajectory since early 2026 leaves monetary authorities with little room to manoeuvre.