This is another ozone layer' moment. Now, we must urgently target methane | Mia Mottley

"The timing is brutal. Just as the world celebrates the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Paris climate agreement this month, new evidence shows that the world is crashing through the main defence that was constructed against climate catastrophe. The three-year temperature average is for the first time set to exceed the Paris guardrail of 1.5C above preindustrial levels. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2025 will join 2023 and 2024 as the three warmest since the Industrial Revolution,"

"As temperatures continue to rise including in the oceans, where the extra heat fuels more powerful hurricanes far greater catastrophes lie ahead as feedback loops push the planet past irreversible tipping points. We have already passed our first tipping point, the progressive loss of warm-water coral reefs, on which nearly a billion people and a quarter of marine life depend; a development particularly relevant to island countries like Barbados."

"Cutting methane emissions is the fastest and simplest way to slow near-term warming and prevent triggering more tipping points. We must also reduce carbon-dioxide emissions as quickly as possible, although much of the impact on climate will take effect in the medium to long term. In contrast, we could avoid up to nearly 0.3C of warming by the 2040s by eliminating the easily avoidable methane emissions, starting with those of the oil and gas sector."

Three-year global temperature averages have reached levels that exceed the 1.5°C Paris threshold, with 2023–2025 among the warmest years since the Industrial Revolution. Ocean warming is strengthening storms and increasing heat storage, raising risks of cascading feedbacks that could trigger irreversible tipping points. The progressive loss of warm-water coral reefs has already occurred, affecting nearly a billion people and a quarter of marine life. The Amazon, major ocean currents, and ice sheets face collapse, risking metres of sea-level rise. Rapid methane cuts, especially in oil and gas, alongside tripling renewables and doubling energy efficiency, can substantially slow near-term warming.

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