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The United Nations is targeting a global average temperature rise of 2C from pre-industrial levels for what scientists believe would be manageable climate change, avoiding worst-case-scenario increases in droughts, storms, floods and sea level rises. Photo: AFP (AFP) — The United Nations is targeting a global average temperature rise of 2C from pre-industrial levels for what scientists believe would be manageable climate change, avoiding worst-case-scenario increases in droughts, storms, floods and sea level rises. Photo: AFP **(AFP)**

World set to exceed global warming limit

1 min read . Updated: 11 Jun 2013, 12:43 AM IST Richard Lein

Global temperatures are on track to rise by more than double the two-degree warming goal set by the UN

Paris: Global temperatures are on track to rise by more than double the two-degree warming goal set by the UN unless urgent measures are taken, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned on Monday.

“The path we are currently on is more likely to result in a temperature increase of between 3.6 and 5.3 C," IEA chief Maria van der Hoeven said in presenting a new report on greenhouse gases.

The Paris-based agency urged governments to act, saying the 2C target could still be met with little economic pain.

The IEA report was issued as nations gathered in Bonn for a second week of talks on forging a global pact to limit carbon emissions. It would be signed in late 2015 and take effect in 2020.

The United Nations is targeting a global average temperature rise of 2C from pre-industrial levels for what scientists believe would be manageable climate change, avoiding worst-case-scenario increases in droughts, storms, floods and sea level rises.

In its “Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map" report, the IEA said carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel use rose by 1.4% last year to a record 31.6 billion tonnes.

Last month, the level of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere breached a threshold of 400 parts per million—a level never before experienced by humans and considered the absolute maximum for the two-degree target to remain within reach.

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World set to exceed global warming limit

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