FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
29 October 2025
Pacific – As we watch the devastating impacts of Hurricane Melissa making landfall in Jamaica, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned in his only interview before next month’s COP30 climate summit that humanity has failed to limit global heating to 1.5°C,
Acknowledging that overshooting the Paris Agreement goal is now “inevitable,” Guterres urged world leaders to “change course immediately” by urgently cutting emissions to avoid catastrophic tipping points in the Amazon, the Arctic, and the oceans. The warning comes just weeks after scientists confirmed that the world has already passed its first climate tipping point with coral reefs in irreversible decline.
Fenton Lutunatabua, 350.org Deputy Head of Regions says,
“It is disheartening to see how dangerously normalised this temporary exceeding of 1.5 degrees has become. This is not a casual situation, it should ring alarm bells at the highest level. Even a temporary overshoot guarantees irreversible loss and damage for Pacific Islands. Earlier this year we heard of the irreversible decline of coral reefs – entire ecosystems, food sources and protective barriers for our islands. We will only cross more planetary tipping points if we don’t urgently course-correct immediately.
Our response to the 1.5 degree limit has always been one of ambition and action. Pacific leaders made the Paris Agreement a possibility and Pacific youth pioneered the historic climate ruling by the International Court of Justice. Our people are adapting the best they can in the Pacific, we’re heading to COP30 determined to change the trajectory of our planet, the rest of the world needs to catch up.”
The announcement coincides with the NDC synthesis report that examines 64 updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted between January 2024 and September 2025. According to the findings, current pledges would collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by only 17% below 2019 levels by 2035, a fraction of the roughly 60% global reduction required to limit warming to 1.5°C.
Jacynta Fa’amau, 350.org Pacific Campaigner says,
“There is no time for despair or retreat. Some may read this announcement and think that all is lost, but that is far from the truth. We continue because every single fraction of a degree counts. Every day we overshoot 1.5 degrees equals devastation for our people and oceans. Every inch we let the fossil fuel industry take from us, is a mile our children have to fight. There is only room for action, and that is what needs to happen at COP30 this year. No more promises, but real action. There is a gap between where countries’ emissions targets are, and where they need to be to keep 1.5 alive – COP30 is where we can address that critical gap.”
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