The world has failed to limit rising temperatures to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, the UN secretary general has said. Speaking ahead of the Cop30 climate conference in Brazil, António Guterres warned it was now “inevitable” that humanity will overshoot the target cap set in the 2015 Paris Agreement – with “devastating consequences”.

What has happened since Paris?
Progress has been made over the past decade, said Christiana Figueres, the former executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, in The Economist. Global carbon dioxide emissions were rising by almost 2% per year in 2015 but have since slowed to 0.3%, while fossil-fuel demand has “plateaued and is falling in several large economies, including China”. 

Ten years ago, the world was on course to warm by as much as 4C by 2100. Today, projections hover near 2.6C; “still dangerously high, but a profound course correction that must now deepen, and fast”. The “unprecedented economic transformation” towards a greener global economy is “now unmistakably under way, despite a global pandemic, war, Brexit and two Trump presidencies”.

Yet despite this, 2024 marked the first year that global average temperatures exceeded the 1.5C threshold.

Can humanity do more?
Although “one year alone” of overshooting the target “doesn’t mean that threshold has been irreversibly breached”, said Time, research published by the Yale School of the Environment “suggests that it likely means the world will exceed 1.5C over the next 20 years”. A separate study found a 90% likelihood that emissions will peak in 2045, two decades later than the target peak date.

Guterres has refused to give up on the goals agreed in Paris. “It is absolutely indispensable to change course in order to make sure that the overshoot is as short as possible and as low in intensity as possible,” he told The Guardian. With urgent action, it may still be possible to bring temperatures down in time to return to 1.5C by the end of the century, he said.

What will happen if we do nothing? 
Failure to stick to the target threshold will “challenge fundamental aspects of nationhood and identity”, said the Chatham House think tank. It will also “reshape systems that underpin modern society, including finance”. The stakes heading into COP30 could not be higher.

The death of industrialist Gopichand “G.P.” Hinduja has made public a long-running feud within the family who topped this year’s Sunday Times Rich List 2025, with a net worth of over £35 billion.

The Hinduja dynasty has been “riven by a decade-long ‘Succession’-style
feud”, said John Arlidge in The Times. With the two remaining brothers, Ashok and Prakash, taking control in the interim, major questions remain over how “power, control and money should pass from one generation of the family to the next”.

‘Publicity-shy’
The second of the four brothers, G.P. (pictured above) took over the Hinduja Group following the death of his older brother Srichand (“S.P.”) in 2023. Founded in 1914 by their father Parmanand, trading carpets, tea and spices to the West, the business now operates in 11 sectors (including healthcare, banking, IT, trading, media and real estate) in 48 countries and has up to 250,000 employees.

Although the “publicity-shy” Hinduja Group may not be a household name, its UK and global reach is profound, said Josh Spero, Chris Kay and Krishn Kaushik in the Financial Times. G.P. and his older brother transformed the family’s “modest trading operation” in India and Iran into a “major” global “conglomerate”.

‘Likely to get worse’
The feud dates back to 2015, when G.P.’s brother Srichand claimed sole ownership of Hinduja Bank, based in Switzerland, which “shattered” the “sense of family harmony”, said Rory Tingle in the Daily Mail. The surprising move undermined the “age-old” motto of “everything belongs to everyone and nothing belongs to anyone” held within the family, said Benjamin Stupples in Bloomberg.

“The family has had to endure publicity – all of it bad – since the feud erupted,” said The Times, and sources sources close to the family claimed it was “likely to get worse” after a period of mourning. The fighting within the family has become so intense that the total legal fees  “are said to have reached £20 million”, according to the paper, with “one wing of the family communicating with the others via lawyers”.

Visitors take pictures amid the trees at the Gyeongbokgung Palace in central Seoul. South Korea is famed for its vibrant autumn foliage, with crimson maples and golden gingkoes transforming the capital’s skyline.

Jung Yeon-Je / AFP / Getty Images

Not all gifts belong under the Christmas tree – some are best unwrapped at the table. From gourmet honey to cheeses worth lingering over, these edible presents will add an extra-decadent flavour to the festive season.

The OG Brownie Box
Thick, fudgy and oh-so-rich, this box of six chocolate brownies (pictured above) is a great choice for those with a sweet tooth. Shipped straight to their doorstep in a sleek black box with a bright red bow. Littledessertshop.store; £24.99 

Cheese Bakes Night In Selection
This set from Snowdonia Cheese Co invites the receiver to slow down and savour winter evenings with gooey oven-baked cheeses, mature cheddars, tangy chutneys and crisp crackers. Melting, mixing and dunking are all on the agenda, from the extra-mature Black Bomber Rarebit to the sauvignon blanc-infused Rock Star Cheese and Wine Bake. snowdoniacheese.co.uk; £36

Stein’s Sweet Christmas Stocking
Stockings aren’t just for kids, and you can recapture some of that nostalgic Christmas magic with this sweet spin on the traditional treat. Presented in a festive design, it’s filled with indulgent treats. Think buttery vanilla fudge, decadent chocolate and perfectly crunchy yet soft shortbread. shop.rickstein.com; £40

Babur Chutney Trio
A 10-minute train journey from London Bridge, in Honor Oak Park, Indian restaurant Babur has perfected the art of flavourful cooking. And to celebrate its 40th birthday, it is offering a collection of its house-made chutneys to enjoy at home. The set brings together three distinctive creations: the bold flavour of forest berries, the brightness of carrot pickle, and the tangy allure of green apple. babur.giftpro.co.uk; £9

Pampered Baby Boomers Have Europe in a Choke Hold
Lara Williams on Bloomberg
The upcoming Budget will be “punishing”, writes Lara Williams. But while “working people” will “suffer most of the pain”, older people will be “largely” unscathed. The “ludicrous” state pension triple lock “will sail on” – and “the UK’s no outlier” here. Pension reform has “hit obstacles” in six EU nations. Our pension systems “aren’t fit” for “the future”. But instead of taking “action to defuse this economic time bomb”, our “governments keep running scared of ‘grey power’”.

Sorry, but we should all be paying more council tax
Stefano Hatfield in The i Paper
“We open that brown envelope, groan at the council tax bill”, then “in the next breath”, moan “about potholes, missed bin collections and the closing of the local library”, writes Stefano Hatfield. We “resent paying for local services, yet expect them to work”. Labour should “be brave” and “raise council tax honestly” and with “transparency”. It is “politically risky”, but “so is running out of money”. Voters “can’t keep demanding Scandinavian-style services on American-level taxes”.

The government is set to ban strangulation porn – but is this too little, too late?
Kimberley Bond in The Independent
“Strangulation during sex is now par for the course,” writes Kimberley Bond. “I wasn’t the first of my friends to be choked without consent during intercourse” and “I won’t be the last”. The government’s plan to ban strangulation porn will only work if “we also give people a decent sex education”. We must teach boys and girls “about consent and respect”, or “violent” porn will “continue to bleed out into the bedroom – and beyond”.