'India, China greenhouse gas culprits'

UN reports say India and China recorded the highest absolute increases of greenhouse gases, while the European Union was the only major economy to see a decline.

- Agencies

Global temperatures are now predicted to rise between 2.3 and 2.5 degrees Celsius this century, even if countries fully implement their national climate pledges, according to the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report 2025.

The projection marks a slight improvement from last year's estimate of 2.6 to 2.8 degrees Celsius, but remains far above the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit set under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The report said current policies put the world on track for 2.8 degrees Celsius of warming by 2100, down slightly from last year's 3.1-degree projection. It noted that last year, global greenhouse gas emissions reached a record 57.7 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, a 2.3 per cent rise from the previous year. Deforestation and land-use changes accounted for more than half of this increase, while fossil fuel emissions continued to grow.