How bolder targets, treaties and talks will steer a defining year for climate

Greenpeace activists project a slide message on a cooling tower of the National Thermal Power Corporation on the outskirts of New Delhi, India.

One of the most consequential years for the planet has begun, with nations set to deliver fresh climate pledges as Trump returns to the White House and ICJ judges prepare a landmark ruling on climate accountability. Policy will also be shaped by a return to plastic treaty talks, Europe’s rollout of the first binding rules on deforestation, and a UN summit marking a decade since the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C target was set – a goal that's still dangerously out of reach.

Despite cooling La Nina conditions in the Pacific Ocean, scientists say that 2025 will still rank among the three hottest years on record. Temperatures are tipped to hit between 1.29C and 1.53C above pre-industrial levels, with extreme weather events continuing to devastate communities.

Earth’s average temperature breached 1.5C for the first time last year, prompting United Nations Secretary General Antionio Guterres to urge governments to "exit this road to ruin” in a New Year’s message that warned there was “no time to lose".

The UN's highest court will, sometime early this year, hand down a landmark advisory opinion on the legal obligations of states to address climate damages.

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As this pivotal year for climate policy and justice gets underway, RFI breaks down the key moments to watch:

JANUARY

Second Trump presidency

FEBRUARY

New national pledges

Existing NDCs have the world on track for 2.5C to 2.9C or warming.

JUNE


Read more on RFI English

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