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Paris Climate Pact Falters as Warming Limit Nears
13 Oct
Summary
- Major polluters backtracking on climate action
- UN climate summits failing to drive meaningful change
- World on track for catastrophic 3°C warming by 2100
As of October 13, 2025, the global climate cooperation framework established by the landmark Paris Agreement is facing a reckoning. Ten years after the deal was negotiated, major greenhouse gas emitters are wavering on their commitments to climate action, even as the world rapidly approaches the agreement's safer 1.5°C warming limit.
Despite clear evidence of worsening climate change impacts, including dangerous extremes across the planet, the United Nations-led system based on consensus and voluntary pledges is struggling to drive meaningful change. The US has once again withdrawn from the Paris pact, while other top polluters plan to extract even more fossil fuels. The European Union and China have also fallen short on their climate plans.
Experts warn that the upcoming COP30 UN climate summit in Brazil, and those beyond, must find a way to translate existing promises into concrete action. Former UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa has stated that the COP process remains "absolutely necessary" to unite countries and hold them accountable. However, with global alliances fracturing and economic uncertainty looming, the path forward for effective climate diplomacy remains uncertain.
