The world, especially richer carbon polluting nations, remains “far behind” and is not doing nearly enough — not even promising to do enough — to reach any of the global goals limiting future warming, according to Emissions Gap report from the United Nations Environment Programme.

That “highly inadequate” inaction means the window is closing, but not quite shut yet, on efforts to keep future warming to just a few more tenths of a degree from now, the report said.

“Global and national climate commitments are falling pitifully short,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on October 27. “We are headed for a global catastrophe”, he added.

The world is weaning itself from fossil fuels too slowly, the report and experts stated.

Instead of limiting warming to 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the global goals set by the 2015 Paris agreement, the way the world is acting now, warming will hit 2.8 degrees by the year 2100, the UN report further mentioned.

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said that  “In all likelihood, we will pass by 1.5”. “We can still do it, but that means 45% emissions reductions” by 2030. “It’s really about understanding that every little digit that we shave off is a lesser catastrophic outlook,” she added.

The report said “G20 members are far behind in delivering” on their promises to reduce emissions. Taking out the special cases of Turkey and Russia, current policies by G20 nations fall 2.6 billion metric tons a year short of the 2030 goal, the report specified. Both Turkey and Russia’s targets for 2030 have higher pollution levels than current policies project and using their projections would make the G20 emissions gap artificially low, the report said. 

“It’s critical that China, as well as the U.S. and other G20 countries, actually lead,” Andersen stated.

The report is the 13th edition in an annual series that provides an overview of the difference between where greenhouse emissions are predicted to be in 2030 and where they should be to avert the worst impacts of climate change.