THE Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN) is urging governments not to ease climate ambition as new United Nations findings warn that global warming is likely to breach the 1.5°C threshold within the next few years.
PICAN said the projected overshoot must not be treated as a reason to accept a hotter world, warning that every additional fraction of a degree would carry serious consequences for Pacific communities.
The comments follow a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which finds that even under an optimistic pathway, global warming could peak at around 1.8°C. Current policies put the world on a considerably higher trajectory.
PICAN said the findings were particularly concerning for Small Island Developing States already dealing with rising sea levels, extreme weather, ecosystem degradation and threats to food and water security.
“For the Pacific, overshoot is not a line on a graph,” PICAN Director Dr Rufino Varea said in the statement.
“Every fraction of a degree carries consequences for our reefs, our food and water, our economies, our homes and ultimately our ability to remain on our islands.”
Varea said that while an overshoot of 1.5°C may now be unavoidable, governments can still influence how high temperatures rise and how long they remain above the threshold.
PICAN said UNEP’s findings reinforce the need for rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, alongside stronger adaptation and resilience measures.
The network also called for an accelerated transition away from fossil fuels, stronger national climate commitments and increased climate finance for vulnerable countries.
PICAN International Policy Lead Dr Sindra Sharma said crossing 1.5°C did not mean the temperature goal had lost its importance.
“Crossing 1.5°C does not make 1.5°C irrelevant. It makes the responsibility to act even greater,” Sharma said.
She warned that the science of climate overshoot should not be used to justify continued fossil fuel expansion or weaker climate targets.
PICAN also raised concerns about who would bear the greatest costs of a warming world, arguing that Pacific countries that contributed little to the climate crisis were facing some of its most severe consequences.
“We are being asked to contemplate consequences that reach all the way to habitability,” Sharma said.
The statement comes as Pacific leaders gather in Palau for the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, where climate resilience and sustainable development are among the key regional priorities.
PICAN said the latest UNEP findings should sharpen, rather than weaken, Pacific calls for deeper emissions cuts, greater climate finance, and stronger support for adaptation and loss and damage.
