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The world faces 'hellish' warming as climate policies fall short, UN warns

The sun rises over an oil field over the Monterey Shale formation where gas and oil extraction using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is on the verge of a boom on March 24, 2014 near Lost Hills, California. (David McNew/Getty Images)
The sun rises over an oil field over the Monterey Shale formation where gas and oil extraction using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is on the verge of a boom on March 24, 2014 near Lost Hills, California. (David McNew/Getty Images)

As world leaders prepare for climate negotiations in Dubai next month, the United Nations warns of a dangerous gap between what countries have promised to do and what’s necessary to avoid a climate catastrophe. The UN’s latest Emissions Gap Report says inadequate policies could lead to three degrees Celsius of global warming this century, a scenario described as “hellish” by Secretary General António Guterres.

Last week the world’s top two emitters, China and the U.S., announced new steps to reduce global emissions of methane, a potent and sometimes overlooked greenhouse gas, but the U.S. faces questions about compensating poor countries for damages caused by global warming.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks with Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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