Fossil Fuel Emissions Hit Record High as Climate Pledges Fail to Avert Disaster

As of November 13, 2025, the world is still on track for a catastrophic 2.6°C increase in temperature by the end of the century, as countries have failed to make sufficiently strong climate pledges. A new report has found that fossil fuel emissions have hit a record high, set to rise by about 1% in 2025.

While the rollout of renewable energy is now close to supplying the annual rise in global energy demand, it has yet to surpass it. The past decade has seen emissions from coal, oil, and gas rise by 0.8% per year, compared to 2.0% in the previous decade. However, this rate of increase has more than halved in recent years.

Alarmingly, the report also shows a worrying weakening of the planet's natural carbon sinks. Tropical forests in Southeast Asia and South America have shifted from being overall CO2 sinks to sources of the climate-heating gas, due to the combined effects of global heating and deforestation.

Experts warn that a world at 2.6°C would likely trigger major "tipping points," causing the collapse of key ocean circulation, the loss of coral reefs, and the conversion of the Amazon rainforest to a savannah. This would have devastating consequences for agriculture, water availability, and human habitability across the globe.