Emissions Gap Report & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (21 October 2026) | United Nations

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: - Emissions Gap Report - El Niño - Extreme Heat - Abyei - Sudan Consultations - Democratic Republic of the Congo - Libya - Yemen - Occupied Palestinian Territory - Security Council / Kosovo - Haiti - U.N. / AU Peacebuilding Meeting - Centenary of the Slavery Convention EMISSIONS GAP REPORT The U.N. Environment Programme today launched its Emissions Gap Report 2026, showing that the chance of holding global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels with no limited or limited overshoot is a key target of the Paris Agreement on climate change, and that goal is now gone. In a video message to the launch of the report, the Secretary-General notes that the consequences are already devastating, but overshoot is not surrender. The Secretary-General says that we can still keep it as small and as short as possible, and bring temperatures back down to below 1.5 degrees before the end of the 21st century. The Secretary-General underscores that we have the tools to change the course and we have the tools to pull back from the brink. He warns that the world is running out of time and governments must go much further and much faster. The Secretary-General also emphasizes that the G20 must lead and the principles of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities must apply, but all countries, especially the big emitters, must do more. He adds that developed countries must mobilize the affordable finance for developing countries, to accelerate the transition and protect people from the worsening climate. The message and the report are available online. EL NIÑO This morning in Geneva, the U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, sounded the alarm over El Niño, calling it a “behemoth” and a “wrecking ball” that will hit regions already battered by conflict; battered by displacement; battered by soaring food, fertilizer and fuel prices; and massive aid cuts on top of it all. Speaking together with Celeste Saulo, the Head of the World Meteorological Organization, Mr. Fletcher warned that the humanitarian system cannot cope alone with a threat on this scale, calling for a much wider global mobilization of solidarity, expertise and action across governments, civil society, academia and the private sector. He warned that the next two weeks are a critical window to act before the damage is done. With forecasts giving us the chance to prepare, he said it would be an “extraordinary failure” to squander the opportunity to protect people in El Niño. “We cannot prevent El Niño,” he said, “but we can be serious about the challenges ahead, and we can be creative and generous for preparing them.” The World Meteorological Organization also today released a new second seasonal climate outlook which indicates that the current El Niño event could be unprecedented in strength. The Global Seasonal Climate Update forecasts that sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific, the epicentre of El Niño, may rise to 3.8°C above average during November through January of next year. EXTREME HEAT Today, as extreme heat intensifies around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the UN Children Fund (UNICEF) and the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) launched the first-ever set of priority indicators to help countries track the impacts of heat on pregnant women, newborns and children. The new framework is designed to strengthen preparedness, improve monitoring, and accelerate response. These actions will help protect some of the populations most vulnerable to climate-related health risks. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-10-21


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