Despite the rapid increase of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere during the past 50 years, observed global mean surface temperature (GMST) showed a pause in the warming trend during the first decade of the twenty-first century. This is referred to as the global warming “hiatus.” A dominant hypothesis emphasizes that the superimposition of the cold phase of the Pacific decadal variability and the global warming trend can lead to the hiatus. This also implies a future acceleration of global warming once the Pacific decadal variability enters its warm phase. Using simply energy balance model, we explore three potential mechanisms that may restrain the GMST warming trend: enhanced negative climate feedback, downward ocean vertical mixing and overturning circulation. Forced by linearly increasing heating, a stronger negative climate feedback can reduce the GMST warming rate, but cannot result in a warming hiatus. Although the global overall climate feedback can be assumed to be more negative theoretically, in reality this feedback is likely to become more positive, which would potentially result in a disastrous runaway climate in several decades. Enhanced downward mixing of heat can cause a short-lived hiatus of surface warming rate, but this would eventually accelerate the surface warming in the long run. A stronger overturning circulation can transport more surface warm water downward just temporarily, which cannot stop the warming trend. This study suggests that in the long run, the only route to contain the global warming effectively is to reduce the GHGs.