CLIMATE ACTION
“Far from representing
Photo: Xavier Lejeune
Photo: Gustavo Frazao/Shutterstock
mere climate targets for 2035, our NDCs represent the vision of our shared future.”
showed that the monthly average global temperature had exceeded the 1.5°C threshold for 21 out of the past 22 months. “The world is on the trajectory to 3°C,” warned UNFCCC chief Simon Stiell. But it is not only temperatures which are rising. Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels reached a record 37.8 billion metric tonnes in 2024, according to the Global Carbon Project, a research group. “Solar and wind is displacing fossil fuels in some countries, but when you put the whole global sum together, fossil fuels are still winning,” said Glen Peters, senior researcher at the CICERO Center for International Climate Research in Oslo. Following a UN initiative by the South Pacific archipelago nation of Vanuatu and other climate-vulnerable countries the International Court of Justice found in a groundbreaking ruling in July 2025 that states could be legally pursued for failing to act on the “urgent and existential threat” of climate change. Reshaping international law, the unanimous finding by the panel of 15 judges said that states had an obligation to cut greenhouse gas emissions, clarifying that climate obligations are legally binding and countries face legal consequences if they fail to take effective action.
Well aware of the challenges the global climate agenda is facing the Brazilian COP Presidency has outlined its plans for the summit from November 10-21. The host country made it clear
in regular communications to all parties that it wants
André Corrêa do Lago, President, COP30
the conference to be inspired by the spirit of mutirão – a local term referring to a collective effort toward a shared goal.
elsewhere, and geopolitical tensions and economic turmoil are sapping scarce resources. While the USA has completely reversed its energy policy, the EU is mired in arguments over its plans and China has not only become the biggest producer of renewable energy in recent years, but lately also launched a new drive to invest in – superficially cheap – coal. While the political circumstances are not conducive to big breakthroughs in the COP framework, the facts about climate change make immediate, comprehensive and joint action as important as ever. Last year was the first in which global temperatures averaged more than 1.5°C, the Paris target. Data published by the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service in May 2025
“(NDCs) must cover all emissions to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.”
António Guterres, Secretary-General, UN
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