Climate change is accelerating, while world still turning up heat Opinion piece by Bloomberg

Bloomberg climate columnist Mark Gongloff argues that the world is approaching a critical point in the fight against global warming, as governments continue to fall short of climate targets even while the effects of rising temperatures become increasingly severe.

Gongloff, writing in an opinion piece for Bloomberg, uses the familiar “boiling frog” metaphor to describe humanity’s response to climate change. But, he argues, the reality is more troubling: people are already experiencing the consequences of a warming planet while continuing to support policies and investments that increase fossil-fuel use.

The warning comes as the United Nations Environment Programme concludes that limiting global warming to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels is increasingly unlikely without substantial carbon removal. According to the analysis cited by Gongloff, the world is currently on track for roughly 1.8°C of warming at best, with longer-term warming potentially reaching 2.6°C.

Gongloff stresses that the 1.5°C threshold was not an arbitrary target. Scientists have identified a number of climate “tipping points” that become increasingly dangerous as temperatures rise, including coral reef loss, the destabilisation of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets and thawing permafrost.

These changes could trigger feedback loops that accelerate warming and produce lasting environmental and economic damage. Permafrost, for example, can release methane as it thaws, while melting ice contributes to rising sea levels.

The impacts of climate change are already visible, Gongloff writes, pointing to deadly heat waves in the United States and Europe, extensive wildfires and severe flooding. He also highlights emerging research suggesting that climate change may be contributing to more powerful El Niño events, potentially intensifying the droughts, floods and extreme weather associated with the phenomenon.

At the same time, the transition to cleaner energy is producing mixed signals. Gongloff notes that solar, wind and battery technologies have become increasingly competitive with fossil fuels. The US is expected to add significant amounts of new power capacity, most of it from clean sources. Yet proposals for new gas-fired power plants are also expanding, particularly to meet rising electricity demand from data centres.

China presents a similar contradiction. The country now has more solar capacity than coal capacity, according to figures cited by Gongloff, while coal use continues to grow.

The columnist also points to a broader political retreat from climate action, citing policies in the United States, China, Germany and Canada that have weakened or slowed some climate measures while supporting continued fossil-fuel development.

Despite the setbacks, Gongloff emphasises that the situation is not irreversible. The UN assessment, he notes, indicates that reducing emissions and removing carbon from the atmosphere could still limit the extent of future warming.

For Gongloff, the central message is that every fraction of a degree matters. A world that reaches 1.8°C of warming would still face serious consequences, he argues, but would be significantly better off than one that reaches 2°C or beyond.

By Sabina Mammadli