Preface 3

Foreword 4

Reader’s guide 8

 References 11

Executive summary 12

1 How far are countries from achieving national and global mitigation objectives? 14

 1.1. Global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise despite declining emissions intensity 14

 1.2. Faster emissions reductions are necessary to deliver 2030 Nationally Determined Contributions 17

 1.3. Targets of 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions are not aligned with long-term climate objectives 19

 1.4. Many net-zero targets extend beyond 2050 and remain non-binding 20

 1.5. Current commitments remain insufficient to achieve the Paris Agreement temperature goals 23

 1.6. Sectoral emissions trends 24

 1.7. Per capita emissions vary widely even at similar income levels 30

 1.8. Economic activity has become less emissions-intensive but aggregate emissions have continued to increase 31

 References 32

 Notes 34

2 How are climate-related hazards evolving across countries? 35

 2.1. Snapshot of key trends 36

 2.2. Heatwaves are becoming more frequent, intense and costly 42

 2.3. Drought is emerging as a growing threat to water, food and energy security 50

 References 58

 Notes 61

3 How far did countries’ climate action progress? 62

 3.1. Climate action continued to advance in 2025 despite rising policy removals 64

 3.2. Climate policy instruments have expanded at markedly different rates 66

 3.3. Climate action has advanced across all continents, but at different paces 69

 3.4. Climate action has advanced unevenly across sectors 73

 3.5. Regional focus: Asia-Pacific expanded climate action, but progress remains uneven and reliant on non-market-based instruments 77

 3.6. Sectoral focus: Decarbonising electricity has advanced 81

 References 86

 Notes 89

Annex A. Chapter 1 90

Annex B. Chapter 2 94

Annex C. Chapter 3 95

 References 99