As of mid-2025, global climate action has entered a critical phase.

While greenhouse gas emissions

Internationally, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) convened the
29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) in March 2025 in Singaporethe first COP held in Southeast Asia.
COP29s headline outcome was the Singapore Declaration, which urged parties to phase down unabated
fossil fuels by 2040 and pledged to accelerate clean energy transitions. The declaration, while not legally
binding, represents the strongest language on fossil fuel reduction ever included in a COP outcome.
Notably, the declaration secured endorsements from 115 nations, including major emitters such as
China, India, and the United States. However, Russia and Saudi Arabia refrained from signing, citing
concerns over economic impacts. A critical component of COP29 was the launch of the Global Just
Transition Facility (GJTF), a billion fund supported by G20 countries to assist coal-dependent regions in
transitioning to renewable energy and diversified economies. The GJTF will disburse grants and low-
interest loans over the next five years, with an initial tranche of billion allocated in June 2025 to support
mine reclamation projects in Indonesia and South Africa.

On the national level, the United States, under President Maria Thompson (inaugurated January 2025),
has rejoined and strengthened its climate commitments. The U.S. updated its Nationally Determined
Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement in February 2025, pledging a 55 percent reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 relative to 2005 levelsup from the 50 percent reduction pledged
under the previous administration. To implement this, the Biden-Thompson administration passed the
Climate Infrastructure and Resilience Act in April 2025, allocating billion toward grid modernization,
electric vehicle infrastructure, and carbon-capture incentives. The Act also includes a Just Transition
component that provides workforce retraining grants to coal miners and oil-dependent communities.
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized new Clean Air Act regulations in March
2025, setting stricter performance standards for coal- and gas-fired power plantsmandating a minimum
60 percent reduction in CO intensity by 2035.

In Europe, the European Green Deal has continued to progress. The European Commission introduced
the Fit for 60 package in late 2024, which aims to reduce emissions by at least 60 percent by 2030 (above
1990 levels). Among its measures, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) was formalized in
January 2025, imposing tariffs on imports of steel, aluminum, cement, and fertilizers based on their
embedded carbon content. Preliminary assessments in May 2025 indicate that CBAMs initial phase has
led to a 15 percent reduction in carbon-intensive imports from China and Russia, as exporters have
begun adopting cleaner production methods to maintain market access. Additionally, the EU launched its
Nature Restoration Law in February 2025, mandating that member states must restore 20 percent of
degraded ecosystemssuch as peatlands, wetlands, and boreal forestsby 2032. This legislation is expected
to enhance carbon sequestration, with the European Environment Agency projecting an additional sink
of 200 million tonnes of CO by 2030.

China, the worlds largest emitter, has also taken notable steps. In November 2024, during the Asia-
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, President Zhang Wei announced that China will peak
carbon emissions by 2026two years earlier than its previous targetand achieve net-zero CO emissions by
2060. To support this, Chinas National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) released a Green
Five-Year Plan in March 2025, outlining accelerated deployment of renewables, expanded carbon trading
markets, and investment in next-generation nuclear reactors. As of May 2025, Chinas installed capacity
of solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind has surpassed 1 400 GW, representing an 18 percent year-
over-year increase. China also began operating its first large-scale factory producing perovskite solar
cells, which promise higher efficiency and lower manufacturing costs compared to conventional silicon
cells. The factorys initial capacity of 5 GW per year is expected to scale to 15 GW by 2026.

India, the third-largest emitter, hosted the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Summit in February 2025,
where Prime Minister Anjali Kumar unveiled Indias Solar Infinite initiative. This program intends to add
200 GW of solar capacity by 2027 (up from 110 GW in 2024) and includes a billion low-interest financing
facility from the New Development Bank (NDB) to support solar projects in South and Southeast Asia. In
March 2025, Indias Ministry of Power also introduced mandatory Renewable Purchase Obligations
(RPOs) for distribution companies, requiring at least 60 percent of their electricity supply to come from
renewable sources by 2028. Analysts project this could spur 40 GW of new wind and solar capacity in
fiscal year 202526 alone. To address grid stability, the Central Electricity Authority launched a billion
program to deploy utility-scale battery-energy storage systems (BESS) with a combined capacity of 8
GWh by 2027.

In addition to mitigation, adaptation has received increased political attention. The United Nations Office
for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) released its 2025 Global Assessment Report in April 2025, warning
that between 2030 and 2050, climate-related disasters could cause trillion in annual economic losses if
current warming trends continue. As a response, the World Bank launched the Climate Resilience Facility
in March 2025, with an initial capitalization of billion aimed at financing flood defenses, drought-resilient
agriculture, and urban heat-island mitigation. Early pilot projects include reinforced levees along the
Mekong River delta in Vietnam and floating solar farms in Bangladesh that can adapt to rising river
levels. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) also approved a million grant to support sub-Saharan African
countries in constructing climate-resilient infrastructure, such as impervious roads and storm-resistant
housing, by 2028.

Private-sector investment trends in early 2025 have also shifted. Asset managers overseeing trillion in
combined assets signed the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, pledging to align their portfolios with a
1.5 C warming scenario. In practice, these managers have begun divesting from coal and gas companies
while increasing allocations to renewable energy and green bonds. According to a January 2025
BloombergNEF report, global investment in renewable energy hit billion in 2024a 9 percent increase
from 2023and is projected to reach billion in 2025. Corporations have accelerated their own net-zero
roadmaps: as of May 2025, more than 3 000 companies representing trillion in revenue have joined the
Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), committing to scope 1, 2, and 3 emission reductions. Tech giants
such as Google, Microsoft, and Apple have already achieved carbon-neutral operations and are investing
heavily in carbon removal projectsfunding research into direct air capture (DAC) facilities that can
sequester up to 1 million tonnes of CO per year by 2030.

On the technological front, hydrogen has become a centerpiece of many national decarbonization
strategies. In April 2025, South Korea inaugurated its first gigawatt-scale green hydrogen electrolyzer
plant, powered entirely by offshore wind farms. The plant is expected to produce 200 000 tonnes of
green hydrogen annuallyenough to reduce steel industry emissions by 5 percent. The European Union,
under its REPowerEU plan, allocated 5 billion in early 2025 to co-finance 3 GW of electrolysis capacity in
Portugal and Spain, with the goal of becoming a major exporter of green hydrogen to Northern Europe
by 2030. Meanwhile, Japan launched a national Hydrogen Council in March 2025 to coordinate R&D
efforts among universities, utilities, and automakers, focusing on hydrogen-fuel-cell vehicles, industrial
feedstock applications, and low-cost hydrogen storage solutions.

Forests and land-use change remain critical factors. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
released its 2025 State of the Worlds Forests report in May 2025, concluding that deforestation rates
have slowed by 12 percent compared to 20152020driven largely by Brazils new enforcement measures
in the Amazon and Indonesias moratorium on new palm oil concessions. Still, the FAO warns that net
forest loss persists in Central Africa and Southeast Asia, where agricultural expansion and illegal logging
continue. To combat this, the Coalition of Forest Nationsan alliance formed at COP28launched a billion
Forest Protection Fund in April 2025, financed by a mix of public and private capital. The funds initial
grants will support community-led reforestation projects in the Congo Basin and agroforestry programs
in Cambodia, aiming to sequester 200 million tonnes of CO by 2030.

Finally, carbon markets and pricing mechanisms have evolved. Voluntary carbon offsets reached an all-
time high in 2024, with billion tradedan increase of 35 percent from the previous year. However,
concerns about double counting and questionable additionality persist. In response, Verra and the Gold
Standard introduced more rigorous methodologies in late 2024 that include real-time satellite
monitoring to verify reforestation projects and methane capture installations. On the compliance side,
the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in the U.S. northeast tightened its cap by 7 percent for the
20252027 period, causing auction clearing prices for CO allowances to reach per tonne in April 2025up
from in early 2023. Meanwhile, China expanded its national ETS (emissions trading system) in January
2025 to include petrochemical and building materials industries, covering an additional 500 million
tonnes of CObringing total coverage to nearly 13 billion tonnes, or approximately 45 percent of Chinas
emissions.
In conclusion, global climate action in early 2025 is characterized by a mix of urgent mitigation efforts,
renewed international cooperation, and expanding climate financetempered by the reality that
emissions remain stubbornly high. Key successes include the Singapore Declarations strong language on
fossil fuel phase-down, Chinas accelerated peak-emissions target, the U.S.s strengthened NDC, and
record investments in renewable energy. Still, adaptation needs are mounting as extreme weather
eventssuch as record-breaking heatwaves in Europe in July 2024 and unprecedented flooding in Pakistan
in August 2024underscored the urgency of resilience planning. The next twelve months will be pivotal:
COP30 (scheduled for November 2025 in Brazil) must build on these early-2025 commitments and
translate them into actionable roadmaps. If countries can maintain political will and couple ambition
with tangible financing, the emissions trajectory can finally bend downward before 2030thereby keeping
the 1.5 C goal within reach.