A new civil-society report,Inequity, Inequality, Inaction, delivers a stark verdict: three decades after the Rio Earth Summit and a decade on from the Paris Agreement, governments are still protecting profits over people - shielded by elite capture and fossil fuel disinformation - and climate cooperation is on the brink of collapse unless COP30 resets on fair shares. The report shows that Global North countries have failed to cut emissions and are still expanding oil and gas, while also failing to deliver promised finance. The global finance system is failing too: instead of providing public funds at the scale needed, it traps many countries in debt and dependence. While the Global South is closer to fair shares, it is held back from taking effective climate action by this debt and lack of funds. Climate cooperation is paralysed, and Paris targets will remain out of reach unless COP30 delivers a reset - moving from loans to grants, from profit-driven finance to public support that lets countries invest in clean energy, resilience, and jobs. The report also warns that inequality within countries is driving the crisis. Wealthy elites - including in the Global South - can shield themselves from climate impacts while pushing the costs of transition and disaster onto workers and overstretched public systems. This elite capture - and by fossil fuel companies in particular -of crucial political processes deepens injustice, fuels political paralysis, and blocks the stronger action needed to keep Paris alive. This paralysis extends to militarised conflicts that divert trillions from climate action - COP30 must redirect those resources to peace and robust multilateralism. In the face of this systems failure, incrementalism is outdated: COP30 demands a new "climate realism" - rapid transformation toward a just, fossil-free world. What COP30 must deliver The report identifies three breakthroughs COP30 must achieve: 1. Fair-shares NDCs: clear commitments on finance and fossil fuel phaseout. 2. A finance reset: a radical overhaul of international financial architecture, shifting from debt and loans to substantial public, grant-based support, including debt cancellation and global taxation. 3. Just transition frameworks: putting workers, women, youth, and Indigenous peoples at the centre, breaking elite capture through progressive taxes and zero-carbon economic shifts, while redirecting militarised resources toward peace, cooperation, and strengthened democratic institutions and human rights law, with protection for jobs, schools, healthcare, housing, and transport. Read more here:COP30_Civil_Society_Equity_Review.pdf

In anewpolicy brieffocusing on advanced economies,WWFwarns that climate change and nature loss are rapidly eroding the foundations of global insurance markets, driving up economic losses from extreme weathereventsand widening the “insurance protection gap” — the share of damages left uninsured. The resulting financial exposure threatens not only households and businesses but also public financebudgetsanda stableeconomy. Insurance underpins modern economies by protecting assets, enabling investment, and supporting recovery after disasters. But worsening floods, droughts, wildfires, and storms, combined with the loss of naturaldefencessuch as forests and wetlands, are making insurance increasingly unaffordable or unavailable. According to theUN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction,global disaster costs now reach USD 2.3 trillion annually, including indirect and ecosystem losses. In the past year alone, the U.S. spentclose toUSD 1 trillion on climate-related costs, while theEU lost €43 billion from heatwaves, droughts, and floods. Across major economies, insurance markets are struggling to absorb these growing risks: In theUnited States,insurance premiumsforhomeownershave risen 38% since 2019, with coverage becoming unprofitable in 18 states. InEurope, only 20% of catastrophe losses are insured, and the protection gap continues to widen. InAustralia,one in six households now spends more than a month’s income on insurance premiums. Overall, according to Swiss Re insured losses for so-called “natural catastrophes” (mostly driven by climate-related events) are increasing by 5–7% annually corrected for inflation. As insurers raise premiums, restrict coverage, or withdraw from high-risk regions, governments are being forced to step in as insurers of last resort - adding pressure to alreadylimitedpublic budgets. Germany’s €30 billionAhrtalflood recovery and Spain’s €2.2.billiondroughtbail-out of farmers in 2023illustrate how uninsured riskslead tofiscal liabilities.In the US, the government enacted $110 billion in disasterassistancein 2024 for relief efforts in states hit by hurricanes and tornadoes. “The exponentially growing losses and damages from extreme weather events that are undermining the insurance market, are caused both by increasing temperature and the destruction of ecosystems that are protecting us”,said Kirsten Schuijt, Director General of WWF International. “Forests, mangroves or wetlands are crucial for reducing the devastating impact of these extreme events and therefore need to be at heart of the strategies to increase our resilience and keep regions insurable.”  LaurenceTubianaSpecial Envoy to Europe for COP30 states:“The insurance protection gap leaves people vulnerable as extreme weather events hit people hard. With over half of climate-related losses uninsured globally - and more than 90% in developing countries – this is no longer just an insurance market issue, but a systemic threat to people’s livelihoods, economicresilienceand even financial and fiscal stability.”  Governments andfinancialregulators must address the root causes - climate change and nature loss - ifoursocieties are to remain insurable. WWFurgespolicymakersand financial regulatorsto: Undertakeaholisticandforward-lookingrisk and resilience assessment including direct and indirect losses to inform government actionto guide fiscal and policy decisions. Cut greenhouse gas emissions and reverse nature loss to stabilize long-term riskandassure insurability Make nature a core element of resilience and adaptation strategies, recognizingthecost-effective,protective valueithas. Strengthen regulatoryand macroprudential oversight to align financial systems with long-term resilienceframeworks Increasemarket incentives tocontainthe protection gap and promote preventive action. Nature-based solutions candeliver powerful and cost-efficient protection. In Switzerland, for example, the flood prevention value of forests is estimated at CHF 4 billion (USD 4.5 billion) annually —-and it isup to 25 times more cost-effective thanalternatives such as built infrastructure.

GLAND, Switzerlad (28 October 2025):A major UN climate report has warned that current global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have failed to close the ambition and implementation gaps, despite evidence of progress in some areas. The UN’s latest NDC Synthesis report finds that current national climate plans, if fully implemented, could result in emissions dropping by less than one third of what is needed to avert dangerous climate change by 2035. The expected reduction of 19-24% below 2019 levels is a long way from the 60% decline required by 2035 to limit global warming to the Paris Agreement warming to 1.5°C to avoid the most severe climate change impacts. Ahead of COP30, WWF is calling for a global response plan that can put the world on a 1.5°C pathway with the minimum overshoot possible, addressing energy, methane emissions, forests, heavy industry and ensure a just transition. The Brazilian Presidency will need to steer countries towards such a response to reinforce multilateralism and global efforts to reduce emissions under the climate regime. Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, WWF Global Climate and Energy Lead, said: “In the decade since the Paris Agreement was approved, there has been some progress in the right direction, but efforts so far are falling short. The 1.5°C threshold of the Paris Agreement is a legal, moral and scientific guardrail crucial to avoiding the most devastating risks to people and nature. “It is vital that we collectively act to stop pushing our planet to the brink. The science is clear, and tried and tested solutions are available now for use across every sector. What we are missing is the political will to scale up, speed up and finance solutions. COP30 must be where we see momentum pick up to secure a liveable planet for generations to come.” The report is based on the 64 national climate plans known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that were submitted by countries by the 30 September 2025 deadline. This only represents around one-third of global emissions and excludes targets from major G20 economies. WWF urges the remaining parties to urgently deliver 1.5°C-aligned national plans before COP30. Shirley Matheson, WWF Global NDC Enhancement Coordinator, said: “While countries are making genuine progress, the gap between words and action remains dangerously wide. It is particularly disappointing that, instead of setting the pace, major G20 economies still haven’t submitted their targets with less than a fortnight to go before COP30 begins. “At COP30, the G20 must stop hesitating and start delivering. It’s time to turn the slow jog into a sprint by supercharging a clean and fair energy transition. This means increasing the share of renewable energy whilephasing out fossil fuels, mobilising climate finance and ending deforestation and the wider destruction of nature. The world can’t afford delay disguised as diplomacy.” Despite the gaps emaining on ambition and delivery, WWF is encouraged by the report’s finding that more countries have included a broader range of forest-related measures. Countries must build on this at COP30 and provide the next steps on their existing commitment to conserve, protect and restore nature and exosystems, including through halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation by 2030. Notes to Editors: The NDC Synthesis Report is published by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and assesses the collective impact of countries’ national climate plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (or NDCs). You can find full details of the outcome WWF wants to see in Belém in WWF’s COP30 Expectations Paper which is available here For further information, contact WWF COP30 climate comms team cop30-comms@wwfint.org Ruth Cobbe, WWF international Media Relations Manager Whatsapp +44 7990 711935

Carbon dioxide (CO₂)levels in the atmosphere have soared to new highs in 2024, committing the planet to more long-term temperature increase, according to a new report from theWorld Meteorological Organization (WMO). In the the Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, published yesterday, WMO said continued emissions ofCO₂from human activities and an upsurge from wildfires were responsible, as well as reducedCO₂absorption by “sinks” such as land ecosystems and the ocean – in what threatens to be a vicious climate cycle. Concentrations of methane and nitrous oxide – the second and third most important long-lived greenhouse gases related to human activities – have also risen to record levels. Growth rates ofCO₂have tripled since the 1960s, accelerating from an annual average increase of 0.8 ppm per year to 2.4 ppm per year in the decade from 2011 to 2020. From 2023 to 2024, the global average concentration of surged CO₂by 3.5 ppm, the largest increase since modern measurements started in 1957. Dr. Stephanie Roe, WWF Lead Climate and Energy Scientist, said: “This new record for atmospheric CO₂ is a stark and sobering milestone - a reminder that emissions are still rising, not falling. Nature has long been our silent partner: forests, grasslands, wetlands, and oceans absorb roughly half of human CO₂ emissions each year. But this critical service depends on healthy, functioning ecosystems.” WMO released the annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin to provide authoritative scientific information for the UN Climate Change conference in November. The COP30 meeting in Belém, Brazil, will seek to ramp up climate action. “Pressures like deforestation, land conversion, degradation, and pollution are already eroding their health -and climate change is now compounding the damage. Warming impacts like heat stress, drought, wildfires, permafrost thaw, and ocean acidification weaken nature’s ability to absorb carbon. It is critical thatwe cut emissions sharply and fast, and we scale up conservation, restoration, and the resilience of nature to keep these carbon sinks intact," said Roe. WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett saidheat trapped by CO2and other greenhouse gases is "turbo-charging our climate and leading to more extreme weather. Reducing emissions is therefore essential not just for our climate but also for our economic security and community well-being.” Today’sCO₂emissions to the atmosphere not only impact global climate today, butwill do so for hundreds of years because of its long lifetime in the atmosphere. Notes: 1. When the bulletin was first published in 2004, the annual average level ofCO₂was 377.1 ppm. In 2024 it was 423.9 ppm. 2. About half of the totalCO₂emitted each year remains in the atmosphere and the rest is absorbed by Earth’s land ecosystems and oceans. However, this storage is not permanent. As global temperature rises, the oceans absorb lessCO₂because of decreased solubility at higher temperatures, whilst land sinks are impacted on a number of ways, including the potential for more persistent drought. 3. The likely reason for the record growth between 2023 and 2024 was a large contribution from wildfire emissions and a reduced uptake ofCO₂by land and the ocean in 2024 – the warmest year on record, with a strong El Niño. During El Niño years,CO₂levels tend to rise because the efficiency of land carbon sinks is reduced by drier vegetation and forest fires – as was the case with exceptional drought and fires in the Amazon and southern Africa in 2024. 4. Read the WMO report here. 5. See WWF’s COP30 Expectations Paper here.

9 October 2025 — As the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress opens today, members are preparing to vote on a historic motion that could redefine the future of global conservation by tackling the world’s biggest threat to nature: fossil fuels. Motion 42: “Addressing the climate and biodiversity crises through fossil fuel supply-side measures and a just transition” calls on the IUCN to develop guidance, analysis, and pathways for a fair and funded phaseout of coal, oil, and gas—placing fossil fuel supply at the heart of conservation for the first time in the IUCN’s history. If adopted, the motion would make the IUCN the first major environmental body to formally call for international cooperation toward a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty—a new global framework to stop fossil fuel expansion, equitably phase out existing production, and enable a just transition for workers and communities. Hon. Ralph Regenvanu, Minister of Climate Changeof Vanuatu, says:“Vanuatu knows what is at stake. Our islands are on the frontline of this crisis. That is why we became the first country to call for a global Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty—to phase out fossil fuels fairly and support a just transition. With the recent ICJ Advisory Opinion, it is now clear: states have legal obligations to prevent climate harm. This is our chance to act together. Phasing out fossil fuels could reduce extinction risks by 75% and free up billions for biodiversity protection. By supporting Motion 42, we can show that the conservation movement is ready to confront the fossil fuel crisis head on.” Fernanda Carvalho, WWF Global Climate and Energy Policy Head, says: “Fossil fuels are not just heating the planet—they’re dismantling the natural systems that sustain life —and the longer we delay action, the deeper the damage. The IUCN has a historic opportunity to address a main cause of both the biodiversity and climate crises.The planet can’t afford to wait another four years. Motion 042 is our chance to turn the tide. It will be a critical step toward ending this harm at its source and restoring the balance between climate, nature, and people, and we urge all IUCN members to support it.” Kumi Naidoo, President of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, says: “Ending fossil fuels is not just climate action. It is biodiversity conservation at its most crucial. By passing Motion 42, IUCN will be the first major environmental body to put fossil fuel supply front and centre on the conservation agenda. This is about science, justice, and ensuring our collective survival. It is the leadership needed to set new norms, to shift what the world thinks is possible, and to inspire governments to follow.” For decades, the IUCN has guided global conservation efforts through resolutions and recommendations that influence international environmental law. However, none have directly addressed fossil fuel supply, despite the clear link between the biodiversity and climate crises. The fossil fuel industry is already responsible for over 50% of ocean acidification and widespread habitat destruction. A successful vote on Motion 42 would mark a turning point—embedding fossil fuel phaseout into conservation policy alongside nature protection and climate goals. The proposal is supported by WWF, the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, and a growing coalition of governments, civil society organizations including BirdLife International and COICA, Indigenous leaders, and youth movements, all urging IUCN to take bold leadership. For further information, contact: Ruth Cobbe WWF International Media Manager news@wwfint.org Becca Galvez Strategic Communications, Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative becca@fossilfueltreaty.org +63 917 550 0819 (in Abu Dhabi / GMT+4)