OTTAWA -- The United Nations is sounding the alarm about the world's plan to keep global temperatures from rising too much due to climate change.

UN Environment's eighth annual emissions gap report says the targets set under the 2015 Paris climate change agreement are only one-third of what is needed to reach the goal.

Canada is among the countries that needs to step it up, says the report, released today.

The Paris agreement was a pledge signed by 196 countries setting national emissions reduction targets aiming to keep the global average temperature increase to less than two degrees Celsius, compared with pre-industrial times.

The report says many countries -- including Canada -- won't meet their 2030 goals and even if they do, it's not enough to prevent the two degree rise.

Canada's current emissions target, to get to 30 per cent below 2005 emissions levels by 2030, needs to be increased, but policies are not yet in place to even meet the target as it stands now, the report says.