U.N. report: Global greenhouse gas emissions must fall dramatically to avoid climate crisis

A sign telling people to believe in the science behind global warming.
(Image credit: John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images)

In order to avoid a climate catastrophe, global greenhouse gas emissions must drop by 7.6 percent every year for the next decade, a new United Nations report warns.

"Our collective failure to act early and hard on climate change means we must now deliver deep cuts to emissions," U.N. Environment Program Executive Director Inger Anderson said. "This shows that countries simply cannot wait." More and more areas of the world are already experiencing stronger hurricanes and heatwaves, and if global temperatures stay on track to rising by as much as 7 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century, the oceans would become more acidic and rising seas would threaten coastal cities.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.