A global backslide on emissions

Countries have failed to halt the rise of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions despite repeated warnings from scientists, according to a new United Nations report.

The result, the authors said, is that “deeper and faster cuts are now required.”

China and the United States, the world’s biggest polluters, were among those expanding their carbon footprints last year, according to the Emissions Gap Report.

Over all, greenhouse gas emissions have grown by 1.5 percent a year over the last decade. To stay within relatively safe limits, emissions must decline by 7.6 percent each year until 2030, the report warned.

Impact: Without those reductions, by midcentury the world may face more intense droughts, stronger storms and widespread food insecurity.