Urgent Climate Actions Needed to Meet the 1.5°C Target by 2030

As 2025 begins, the WRI outlines the urgent climate action needed in the coming decade. The article highlights that governments’ climate actions and commitments have fallen critically short of meeting the necessary targets, particularly the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C and associated global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

To limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100, GHG emissions must decrease by 42% by 2030 and by 56% by 2050 compared to 2023. However, current policies are projected to achieve only a 1% reduction by 2030 and 2035, making it nearly impossible to reach the target.

Closing the significant gap between current pledges and the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement requires a substantial leap in both scale and pace in transitioning to renewable energy and a green economy across all sectors, including power, buildings and infrastructure, food and agriculture, transportation, industry, forestry, land use, and carbon capture solutions.

Due early this year, the upcoming round of countries’ nationally determined contributions (NDCs) should include comprehensive, sector-specific targets lacking in previous NDCs. Doing so could establish precise measurements for both the public and private sectors.

Power

The power sector must rapidly transition to renewable energy, modernise power grids, expand energy storage, improve efficiency, and better manage demand. Coal-fired power should decline by 89% by 2030 and 97% by 2035. Meanwhile, zero-carbon electricity generation from sources like wind and solar must increase by 125%-133% by 2030 and 150% by 2035.

Buildings

Rapid reductions in GHG emissions in the building sector will require improving energy efficiency, decarbonising heating, cooling, and appliances, retrofitting existing buildings, and ensuring zero-carbon new building operations.

Industry

Key strategies for transforming the global industrial sector focus on several key areas: first, reducing consumption through demand reduction and enhancing circularity; second, improving energy efficiency across operations; third, electrifying low- and medium-temperature industrial processes, with goals of a 21%-48% increase by 2030 and 48%-59% by 2035; and finally, developing solutions such as green hydrogen for processes that are challenging to electrify.

In addition, implementing carbon capture technologies can be crucial in addressing the remaining emissions that are more difficult to eliminate from the sector.

Transportation

Reducing GHG emissions in transportation involves three approaches: avoid, shift, and improve. This includes minimising transportation needs by localising jobs and services, transitioning from private vehicles to public or active transportation, and enhancing existing modes with electric vehicles.

To meet the 1.5°C temperature limit, rapid transit networks must expand by 90% by 2030; electric vehicles need to increase by 690% by 2030 and 730% by 2035, and sustainable aviation and zero-emission fuels in maritime shipping must grow by over 1,000% by 2030 compared to current levels.

Forest and land use

Loss and degradation of forests, wetlands, and peatlands release greenhouse gases, but protecting these areas enhances carbon sequestration. To limit warming to 1.5°C, permanent forest loss must decrease by 65% by 2030 and 72% by 2035.

Wetland degradation should drop 100% and 85% by 2030, respectively. Reforestation efforts need to increase by 77% by 2030 and 115% by 2035, and mangrove and peatland restoration needs to increase by over 1,000% by 2030 compared to current levels.

Food and Agriculture

To significantly reduce GHG emissions, countries must dramatically reduce food loss and waste and curb the overconsumption of beef, lamb, and goat meat, especially in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania. Improved on-farm practices and new technologies are essential to increasing food production on existing farmlands while minimising further expansion.

GHG emissions per calorie of food should drop by 28% by 2030 and 35% by 2035, while crop yields must rise by 16% by 2030 and 22% by 2035. Additionally, food loss and waste should be halved by 2030, and consumption of high-impact meats in consuming regions needs to decrease by 21% by 2030 and 26% by 2035.

Carbon capture solutions

Limiting warming to 1.5°C, carbon capture and removal solutions are needed for zero and net-negative emissions. These include direct air capture, carbon mineralisation, and reforestation.

Currently, these technologies remove less than 1 million metric tons of CO2 annually, under 1% of the 2030 target. The next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) will allow countries to present their plans for these strategies.

Please read the full article: By the Numbers: The Climate Action We Need This Decade.