Overshoot

The United Nations said Wednesday the 1.5C target would be missed and outlined how global temperatures might be brought back down in a first-of-its-kind assessment met with dismay in climate-vulnerable nations. In a much-anticipated report, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said the best remaining option had shifted "from avoiding overshoot to navigating it".

"It's a reality check. We have to live with this warmer world, but there's still a lot we can do to limit warming," said report co-author Richard Betts from the University of Exeter. Fellow author Debra Roberts said it was important for policymakers "to realise the rules of the game are now changing". "We now have to reconfigure our climate governance around dealing with an overshoot pathway. None of our plans are prepared for that," she said.

"Dangerous waters"

The blunt message "really struck those who live in low-lying atolls," said Maina Talia, the climate minister of Tuvalu. Marshall Islands climate envoy Tina Stege said "with the overshoot that is now certain ahead of us, we are fighting against a very strong current that's sweeping us into very dangerous waters."

"This is a heartbreaking moment, but overshoot is not the reason to give up and surrender 1.5C," said Jasper Inventor from Greenpeace International. Bill Hare, a climate scientist and CEO of policy institute Climate Analytics, said the report "does a poor job of showing us that there is a way out" and risked becoming "a call to apathy".