The world faces 'hellish' warming as climate policies fall short, UN warns

Published November 20, 2023 at 8:06 AM EST

The sun rises over an oil field over the Monterey Shale formation where gas and oil extraction using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is on the verge of a boom on March 24, 2014 near Lost Hills, California. (David McNew/Getty Images)

As world leaders prepare for climate negotiations in Dubai next month, the United Nations warns of a dangerous gap between what countries have promised to do and what’s necessary to avoid a climate catastrophe. The UN’s latest Emissions Gap Report says inadequate policies could lead to three degrees Celsius of global warming this century, a scenario described as “hellish” by Secretary General António Guterres.

Last week the world’s top two emitters, China and the U.S., announced new steps to reduce global emissions of methane, a potent and sometimes overlooked greenhouse gas, but the U.S. faces questions about compensating poor countries for damages caused by global warming.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks with Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.