STOCKHOLM - The UN's scientific panel on climate change will write a special report on how to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial times.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change agreed Thursday to explore the issue after a request by world governments in Paris last December.
Many scientists say it will be virtually impossible to keep warming below that level without removing vast quantities of heat-trapping greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Temperatures have already risen almost 1 degree C (1.8 F) since humans started burning fossil fuels - the biggest source of greenhouse gases - on an industrial scale in the 19th century.
Meeting in Nairobi, the IPCC also said it will release its sixth assessment of global warming in 2020-2022.
