The 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report left many of us wondering whether the world can indeed keep global warming below 1.5°C, the threshold scientists consider safe to avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate change. New research from WRI and Climate Analytics shows that G20 countries, which account for about 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions, can steer the world toward this goal – if they significantly increase their ambition.
Current national climate plans – including emissions reduction commitments for 2030 (known as NDCs) and legally binding targets to achieve net-zero emissions – will only limit warming to 2.4°C by 2100, making increasingly severe extreme events such as wildfires, droughts, and floods more likely. If G20 countries formalize the targets they have announced (but have not yet officially adopted), the temperature rise could be limited to 2.1°C.
