“Make or break” is hardly hyperbole for the climate negotiations due to reach their climax in November in Glasgow, UK. At the COP26 meeting, nations will have a last chance to really rev up the stuttering motor of climate action and come good on commitments made in Paris in 2015 to limit global warming to a “safe” level of 1.5°C.

Abstract

The facts aren't waiting. Global temperature has already risen by more than 1°C. Melting ice caps, rising sea levels and weather extremes from hurricanes to heatwaves are already showing us some of what a warmed world looks like. Meanwhile, the latest research into climate feedback effects underscores the need to cut emissions deeply and fast, and adapt to a changing world. But it's not – quite – yet too late to do that, as Michael Le Page reports