New data has confirmed that 2024 will be the hottest year on record and the first to surpass the Paris Agreement threshold. This alarming development coincides with America electing a president who has pledged to reverse climate progress both domestically and internationally.
Under the Paris Agreement, nearly every country committed to limiting global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius to prevent worsening impacts like severe droughts, heatwaves, and rising sea levels. Scientists warn that surpassing this threshold will lead to conditions that exceed humanity’s and the natural world’s ability to adapt. The latest data from Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service indicates that 2024 is “virtually certain” to exceed this critical limit.
President-elect Donald Trump, a known climate change skeptic, withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement during his first term and has vowed to do so again. Experts argue that further delays in climate action from major economies will push global temperatures even higher, exacerbating the crisis.
Alex Scott, a climate diplomacy strategist at ECCO, emphasized that “we don’t have time to stop.” The escalating climate crisis, marked by deadly extreme weather events and massive economic costs, has made climate action a key focus at global forums like the G7 and G20.
The Line Fire burned through the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains in California, forcing evacuations for neighborhoods in early September. Apu Gomes/Getty Images
Trump’s re-election could cast a shadow over COP29, the upcoming UN climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan. Alden Meyer, senior associate at E3G, noted that the world is growing weary of the US’s shifting climate policies but recognizes the importance of maintaining engagement.
Major emitters like China and the EU may need to lead in the absence of US support, but there is concern that Trump's stance might embolden other nations to weaken their climate commitments. Meanwhile, global temperatures continue to rise, with October 2024 ranking as the second-warmest on record and marked by extreme events such as Hurricane Milton and historic flooding in Spain.
