The climate emergency is a direct consequence of carbon-heavy land-use and agriculture, transport, buildings and industrial processes and polluting energy sources. Without profound changes to these sectors and a drastic cut to carbon footprints, there is little hope of protecting the planet from the devastating effects of a warmer world.
Below are climate-related news and events from the United Nations and partners.
UN weather experts from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed on 10 January 2025 that 2024 was the hottest year on record, at 1.55℃ above pre-industrial temperatures.
The 1.5℃ marker is significant because it was a key goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement to try to ensure that global temperature change does not rise more than this above pre-industrial levels, while striving to hold the overall increase to well below 2℃.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo insisted that “climate history is playing out before our eyes. We’ve had not just one or two record-breaking years, but a full ten-year series. “It is essential to recognize that every fraction of a degree of warming matters. Whether it is at a level below or above 1.5C of warming, every additional increment of global warming increases the impacts on our lives, economies and our planet.”
From a landmark deal to fund conservation to chilling news about greenhouse gas emissions, 2024 was a rollercoaster year for the planet.
Here’s a closer look at some of the most memorable environmental moments of the last 12 months, shaped by the UNEP and the Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) UNEP hosts that underpin the global environmental movement.
To help communities cope with water-related disasters, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and several partners launched a pilot project to build flood-resilient homes across the country. So far, the effort – also supported by the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre and BRAC, an international development organization – has built 37 residences.
“For Bangladesh and many other developing countries, climate change is not some future threat – it is here, now,” says Mirey Atallah, Chief of UNEP’s Adaptation and Resilience Branch, UNEP. “The world needs to massively step up how it’s adapting to this challenge if we’re going to protect decades of hard-won development gains.”
From predicting floods before they happen to reforesting landscapes at lightning speed, artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to revolutionize how we adapt to climate change.
But with great power comes great responsibility. And can we really tackle climate change with machines that produce titanic quantities of carbon emissions and waste? Himanshu Gupta, CEO of ClimateAI, shares his journey from rural India to Silicon Valley, revealing how AI is helping farmers grow climate-resilient crops. Plus, Eleonore Fournier-Tombs from the UN University shares some groundbreaking uses of AI and how to balance innovation with ethics.
Listen to episode 8 of season 2 of Resilience: The Global Adaptation Podcast.
Under the Enhanced Transparency Framework, Parties to the Paris Agreement are required to submit biennial transparency reports every two years, with the first submission due by 31 December 2024.
Watch this explainer on why Transparency matters.
A record number of oral statements are expected to be presented to the International Court of Justice. The hearings broadly concern the obligations of States with respect to climate change and the legal consequences of these obligations. They are significant because they represent the international community’s efforts to come up with a legal framework for addressing climate change.
More simply put, the court is being asked to provide clarity on international law with respect to climate change. The legal advice it provides may in turn influence any multilateral processes involving climate action.
The Clean Cooking with Agricultural Residues webinar will explore the benefits and challenges when using agricultural residues as fuel for clean cooking. It will present good examples of innovative and sustainable solutions of cooking from agricultural residues in Malawi and Sierra Leone, and address programs supporting access to clean cooking solutions and the use of sustainable cooking fuels.
Creating access to clean cooking is essential for climate action and was underscored at the recent high-level summit on clean cooking for Africa, organized by the IEA in May 2024. Charcoal and firewood remain major contributors to deforestation and account for 60-80% of black carbon emissions across Africa, driving substantial net carbon emissions. Using briquettes and pellets from agricultural residues as fuel can offer a sustainable alternative that protects forest ecosystems, supports local businesses, and improves the health of women and children.
To achieve the SDG7 target for universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services, it is essential to place biomass-based and lower-tier cooking technologies within the broader context of the clean energy transition.
Register to join the webinar on 3 December at 1 pm EAT.
At a somewhat fractious UN Climate Conference (COP29) dominated by finance, the final agreement in Baku, Azerbaijan saw developed countries pledge to “take the lead” in raising US$300 billion annually for developing countries by 2035.
This is up from the US$100 billion a year that was pledged in 2009. It was also agreed that developed countries would “secure efforts” to scale up finance to developing countries from public and private sources to US$1.3 trillion a year by 2035.
UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen has called for "more transparent, inclusive progress on finance, on mitigation and on adaptation." Speaking after the end of COP29, which saw developed countries pledge to deliver US$300 billion annually to developing countries by 2035.
"COP29 has now secured a foundation on which we must now rapidly build. However, we must be clear, ambition and promises are only as good as the action and delivery that backs them up. We therefore need to see more transparent, inclusive progress on finance, on mitigation and on adaptation.
Andersen also highlighted the importance of the upcoming NDC deadline in February next year.
"All member states must now stretch ambition to ensure we can live up to the 1.5°C promise. The NDC plans can unleash a wave of resilient economic growth, new jobs and address cost of living challenges," she said.
In what is probably an overlooked section of the draft texts released earlier today, the decision on who will host COP31 in 2026 won't be decided until June next year at the earliest.
Both Turkey and Australia - co-hosting with one or more Pacific island nations - want to host the event, but neither is willing to withdraw their candidacy.
Of the 29 COPs, six have been held in the southern hemisphere and 23 in the northern hemisphere.
