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 is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.