2024 was officially the first year on record where the average global temperature exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Three of the five leading research groups monitoring global temperatures reported that temperatures were at least 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
Back in December 2015 (at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP21), 196 parties in France signed an agreement to “limit global temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” This landmark decision has been the yardstick for all future COP meeting and climate negotiations.
Subsequently, each nation set Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), or plans to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change impacts. However, the pace of change has been largely insufficient to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, prompting action from citizens in countries around the world.
“The data is clear—we are now in uncharted territory,” said a climate scientist from the World Meteorological Organization. “This should be a wake-up call for global leaders to act decisively in cutting fossil fuel emissions and scaling up renewable energy.”
The past year’s extreme heat, intensified storms, wildfires, and record ocean temperatures provide a glimpse into the future we face if global emissions are not dramatically reduced.
At the recent COP29 in Azerbaijan, progress was made in increasing climate adaptation funding to at least $300 billion per year by 2035. Nonetheless, as nations prepare for upcoming climate negotiations, the urgency is more pressing than ever. Scientists warn that failure to act could lock the planet into a future of irreversible climate consequences.