News by Levels · Level 3 · Student worksheet

UNEP Warns That Climate Overshoot Need Not Be Permanent

Name: __________________________ Date: __________________

Read the story

UNEP’s October 21 assessment shifts attention from avoiding 1.5°C overshoot to limiting its scale and duration. In the report’s lowest-overshoot pathway, warming peaks at roughly 1.7–1.8°C around mid-century.

Deep emissions reductions and increasing carbon removal would give approximately a 50% chance of returning to or below 1.5°C by 2100. PBL, which contributed modeling, stresses the effort required. The pathway is conditional, not an assured forecast.

Source: UN Environment Programme; PBL, 2026-10-21. https://www.unep.org/en/news-and-stories/press-release/new-unep-report-lays-out-emission-cuts-needed-return-15degc

Read and practise

1. What is the purpose of the report’s lowest-overshoot pathway?

   1. Show that going above 1.5°C has no consequences
   2. Limit how high warming goes and work towards a return
   3. Guarantee that warming stops rising immediately

2. Which requirement accompanies deep emissions reductions?

   1. Removing carbon dioxide from the air
   2. Waiting for all emissions to stop on their own
   3. Replacing emissions cuts with carbon removal alone

3. Which interpretation respects the conditional nature of the pathway?

   1. It will happen even without further action
   2. The report confirms that the target has already been reached
   3. It depends on difficult actions and is not guaranteed

Your turn

Explain to a friend why going above 1.5°C does not mean that further action is pointless.

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Read online: https://newsbylevels.com/news/unep-emissions-gap-overshoot-report-october-2026/level-3/