First Thing: Still a chance to return to 1.5C climate goal, experts say

<p>As world leaders gather in Brazil for climate talks, data suggests current plans would lead to devastating heating. Plus, Zohran Mamdani, the New York mayor-elect, introduces his all-female transition team</p><p>Good morning.</p><p>There is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/05/still-a-chance-to-return-to-1-point-5c-climate-goal-researchers-say">still a chance for the world to avoid</a> the worst ravages of climate breakdown and return to the goal of 1.5C if governments take concerted action on greenhouse gas emissions, according to an assessment.</p><p><strong>How do things stand?</strong> For the past two years, global temperatures have surpassed the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/10/world-temperature-in-2024-exceeded-15c-for-first-time">1.5C threshold above preindustrial levels</a> set out in the 2015 Paris agreement. A UN Environment Programme report published this week said governments’ current plans would lead to devastating heating of about 2.3-2.5C.</p><p><strong>What has Brazil’s president said</strong><strong>?</strong> “This [summit] is an opportunity for politicians, diplomats, scientists, activists and journalists to witness … the true state of the forests, the planet’s largest river basin, and the millions of people who live in the region,” Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/06/brazil-cop-30-truth-world-leaders-climate-crisis-president-lula">wrote for the Guardian</a>.</p><p><strong>What is the case about?</strong> Trump has imposed tariffs via the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which in some circumstances grants the president authority to regulate or prohibit international transactions – but only during a national emergency.</p><p><strong>What happens if the court sides against the president?</strong> It would force the White House to reconsider its aggressive tariff policy, which has strained global trade ties.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/06/first-thing-chance-return-climate-goal-brazil-talks">Continue reading...</a>