Pursuing the 1.5 °C Limit: Benefits and Opportunities

This report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) illustrates that limiting warming to 1.5 °C will bring increased safety for people and the environment, and an improved economic outlook of at least 10% higher levels of global GDP by 2050.

The findings of the report suggest that working to achieve 1.5 °C may make it easier to meet several of the Sustainable Development Goals. Renewable energy and the potential it has to plug off-grid power gaps, for example, may be indispensable to achieving universal energy access. Reducing vulnerability of food systems can help to end hunger and malnutrition around the world.

The report also points out that global and local priorities can and do intersect. That happens, for instance, when building a waste-to-energy plant instead of a coal station not only cuts future emissions but also brings jobs to a community while protecting local water and biodiversity. Above all the report shows that global cooperation – North-South, South-South, and even South-North – will be critical, lowering the barriers and costs for all concerned.