September 3, 2026
ARLINGTON, Va. (Sept. 3, 2026) – Yesterday, the United Nations Environment Program released Limiting Overshoot, a report warning that the world is now expected to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, while outlining pathways to limit the extent and duration of the overshoot and ultimately bring temperatures back down.
Conservation International CEO, Dr. Sebastian Troëng, released the following statement:
“The recently released report from the UN Environment Program, Limiting Overshoot, is a sober assessment of where we stand: the world is now expected to exceed 1.5 degrees of warming, likely in the next few years. But this should not be mistaken for a retreat from the goals of the Paris Agreement. Quite the opposite. Every fraction of a degree matters. Overshooting 1.5 degrees does not make the target less relevant. It makes the work of getting there more urgent.”
“Getting back to within 1.5 degrees of warming will require every climate solution we have, and nature is an essential part of that equation. Cutting fossil fuel emissions rapidly is critical, but we cannot stabilize the climate without the forests, grasslands, and coastal and marine ecosystems — including mangroves, seagrasses and tidal marshes — that already absorb and store vast amounts of carbon. Protecting these ecosystems keeps enormous stores of carbon out of the atmosphere; restoring them can remove more. Moreover, in a warming world, healthy ecosystems can help communities withstand worsening heat, floods, drought and other climate impacts even as they help remove carbon from the atmosphere and bring temperatures back down.”
“We know what much of this work looks like: it’s protecting nature, managing our lands and oceans more sustainably, and restoring what has been degraded. Doing this means closing the persistent finance gap for natural climate solutions. And as climate impacts intensify, we must also rapidly increase support for the communities on the front lines of climate change, especially small islands and vulnerable coastal communities. The challenge now is to deploy these solutions, and the finance needed to support them, at the scale and speed this moment demands.”
About Conservation International: Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, for biodiversity and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous Peoples and local communities to help people and nature thrive together. Go to Conservation.org for more.