The Emissions Gap Report 2026
Eduteria Insights · 22 Oct 2026
Why in News?
Recently, UNEP has released its report “The Emissions Gap Report 2026." This report says that global temperatures are rising and are about to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels; therefore, there is an urgent and stringent need to cut greenhouse emissions.
It will probably help to minimize the magnitude and duration of overshoot and return to 1.5°C by the end of the century. It is the 17th edition of the Emission Gap Report.
Key facts about the report
It is the lowest possibility to retain the 1.5°C overshoot scenario. It will remain limited to 7-1.8°C by around the middle of the century.
Global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions would have to be reduced by 18 % by 2030, 45 % by 2035, and 69 % by 2040, all relative to 2025 levels.
Needed to fully implement Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and it would only reduce emissions by 5-8 % by 2030 and 11-15 % by 2035.
According to the report, if current policies continue, warming could reach 2.8°C within this century and increase thereafter. If all NDCs are delivered and similar efforts continue, warming will be limited to 2.6°C.
What needs to be done?
The report also lays out new sectoral benchmarks consistent with the lowest 1.5°C overshoot scenario:
The expansion of renewable energy,
Reducing primary energy intensity,
Reducing the share of coal,
Oil and gas in total energy supply, and cutting methane emissions beyond 2030.
Note: Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, renewable energy has boomed, total energy supply from coal and oil has grown slower than projected, and climate policies have cut emissions in many places.
About the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global authority on the environment, established in 1972 after the Stockholm Conference, with its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.
Many reports are being published by UNEP, such as the Emissions Gap Report, Global Environment Outlook (GEO), Adaptation Gap Report, Frontiers Report, Making Peace with Nature, etc.
- Emissions Gap Report 2026
- UNEP Emissions Gap Report
- United Nations Environment Programme
- global warming
- 1.5°C temperature target
- Paris Agreement
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