Global Warming Remains Unchecked, Experts Warn at COP31 Climate Summit

"Current climate and energy policies will have devastating consequences for ecosystems and communities worldwide, new reports show."

"ANTALYA, Turkey—Amid upbeat green-tech pep talks and notices for happy hours at the annual United Nations COP31 climate change conference on Thursday, two new reports offered a stark reminder of how far the world remains from containing global warming. 

Climate Action Tracker, a nonprofit group that analyzes climate policies, found that the planet is still on track to warm nearly 5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, a rise that would devastate coral reefs, disrupt agriculture and forests and melt most of the world’s ice. In a separate bulletin, the European Union’s Copernicus climate change service reported that global warming has accelerated significantly since the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

When the Paris agreement was adopted, the average global temperature was projected to surpass the pact’s long-term threshold of 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit above the preindustrial average around 2045. After another decade of global climate summits, warming is now projected to cross that benchmark as soon as 2029, according to Copernicus. 

“This striking change suggests that global warming has accelerated in recent years,” the EU scientists wrote. Even without understanding every aspect of the recent rapid global temperature increase, “It is clear that the ever-growing concentrations of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity in the atmosphere remain the main driver of this trend.”"

Bob Berwyn reports for Inside Climate News November 12, 2026.

Source: Inside Climate News, 11/13/2026