The United Nations warns that Earth's climate could warm by as much as 2.9 degrees Celsius by the end of this century, even if countries achieve their 2030 emissions-reduction targets.

The UN Environment Programme on Monday released the Emissions Gap Report 2023.

The report says global greenhouse gas emissions increased by 1.2 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year, to reach a record of 57.4 billion tons.

It said fully implementing the current emissions pledges would still put the world on track for limiting the temperature rise this century to between 2.5 and 2.9 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

It said that, in order to limit global warming to less than 1.5 degrees, global greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by 42 percent in 2030.

The report said that, as of writing, there have been 86 days this year when temperatures exceeded 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. It said September this year was the hottest month ever, with global average temperatures at 1.8 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

The report called on all countries to "urgently accelerate economy-wide, low-carbon transformations." It said the upcoming climate change conference COP28, set to kick off later this month, would be a "timely occasion" to call for international support to set more ambitious targets.