Climate Crisis Outpacing Humanity's Response, Experts Declare Failure

In the decade since the landmark Paris climate agreement was signed, the world has seen a dramatic acceleration of global warming and its devastating impacts, far outpacing the progress made in transitioning away from fossil fuels.

According to experts, the planet's annual temperature has jumped about 0.46°C (0.83°F) since 2015, one of the biggest 10-year temperature hikes on record. This year is set to be the second or third hottest on record globally. The world has been hit with more frequent and intense extreme weather events, including deadly heatwaves, powerful hurricanes, and record-breaking floods and droughts.

Despite the growth of renewable energy, which now accounts for 74% of new electricity generation worldwide, emissions from fossil fuels continue to soar in many countries. China's emissions have risen 15.5% since 2015, while India's have jumped 26.7%. Even the developed world has only managed to reduce emissions by around 7% in the same period.

As a result, the world is now on track to warm by 2.8°C (5°F) by the end of the century, far exceeding the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F). "We have failed," said Johan Rockstrom, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research in Germany.

While some progress has been made, with renewable energy now cheaper than fossil fuels in most places, the speed of climate action remains far too slow to avert the worsening impacts. "The gap between the progress that we see on the ground and where we ought to be, that gap is still there and widening," warned former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres.