Although more than three-quarters of indicators are heading in the right direction, progress towards the Paris Agreement temperature goal is alarmingly inadequate, exposing communities, economies and ecosystems to unacceptable risks. The State of Climate Action 2025 report says that global efforts across 29 indicators are well off track, such that at least a twofold (and for most, more than a fourfold) acceleration will be required this decade to keep the 1.5°C limit within reach.

The fact that progress made in effectively halting permanent forest loss falls within this category for the third instalment in a row is particularly worrying. Not only does deforestation, alone, account for just over 10% of global GHG emissions, but alongside other forms of land-use change, it also poses among the most significant threats to biodiversity across terrestrial ecosystems.

Equally concerning are sluggish efforts to phase out electricity generated from coal, the largest source of GHG emissions in the power sector. Lacklustre declines in this indicator also stymie mitigation across buildings, industry and transport that all, to varying degrees, rely on a decarbonised power grid. And the scale-up of total climate finance, particularly from public sources, also remains well off track. Failure to mobilise sufficient funds similarly risks constraining climate action across all sectors.

Worse still, recent rates of change for another five indicators are heading in the wrong direction entirely and require an immediate course correction. Public fossil fuel finance, for example, has grown by an average of $75bn per year since 2014; progress made in decarbonising steel has largely stagnated; and the share of trips taken by passenger cars, many of which still rely on the internal combustion engine, continue to rise.

Published ahead of COP30, the State of Climate Action 2025 translates the Paris Agreement temperature goal into actionable targets for 2030, 2035 and 2050 across the world’s highest-emitting sectors – power, buildings, industry, transport, forests and land, and food and agriculture – as well as specifies how quickly technological carbon dioxide and climate finance must scale up. It then assesses recent progress made towards these global benchmarks, highlighting where – and by how much – efforts must accelerate this decade.