World leaders stall as Cop30 looms and climate pledges remain unfinished
With just four months until the United Nations climate summit in Brazil, most countries have yet to submit updated emissions plans, threatening the world’s ability to stay below the 1.5C warming threshold.
Fiona Harvey reports for The Guardian.
In short:
- Only a small fraction of countries have submitted new national climate plans required under the Paris Agreement, raising concerns that Cop30 in Belém will lack meaningful progress.
- Global temperatures have already breached 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, and scientists warn that without rapid emissions cuts by 2030, this overshoot could become permanent.
- Political distractions — from war and trade conflicts to rising populism — along with deliberate obstruction by fossil fuel interests are slowing international cooperation.
Key quote:
“Climate is our biggest war. Climate is here for the next 100 years. We need to focus and … not allow those [other] wars to take our attention away from the bigger fight that we need to have.”
— Ana Toni, chief executive of Cop30
Why this matters:
Climate summits like Cop30 are designed to hold governments accountable, but their success depends on political will — and right now, that’s faltering. The 1.5C threshold isn’t just symbolic; passing it risks triggering irreversible changes, from melting glaciers to collapsing ecosystems. Scientists warn the world has just two years left at current emissions rates before this boundary becomes locked in. Yet most nations haven’t updated their short-term targets, and fossil fuel expansion continues, especially in countries like China and the U.S. Meanwhile, poorer nations, facing mounting climate disasters, wait for promised funds that often don’t arrive.
Learn more: Cop30 faces challenges as Trump’s climate retreat and global tensions complicate negotiations
