1 min readBy Fiona Harvey Environment editor
World must cut emissions by 18% in four years ‘to find our way back’, UN says

Action needed to avoid disastrous overshoot of climate targets, according to organisation’s environment body
The world needs to cut carbon emissions by nearly a fifth in the next four years, and by close to half within a decade, to avoid overshooting climate targets by a disastrous margin.
Although the “window has closed” on holding temperature rises to 1.5C, in line with scientific advice, limiting the “overshoot” of that target is still possible, according to the UN Environment Programme (Unep).
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About this article
- Length
- 82 words · 1 min read
- Published
- October 21, 2026
- Byline
- Fiona Harvey Environment editor
- Source
- The Guardian