Close to 100 world leaders announced their countries’ new climate pledges at a Special High-Level Event on Climate Action as part of the UN General Assembly this year.

Hopes were high that these plans would show real leadership and bring the world closer to keeping global warming under the critical 1.5°C limit. Instead, the announcements leave us concerned, said Shirley Matheson, WWF Global NDC Enhancement Lead. 

Scientists warn that global emissions must fall by nearly half this decade to keep 1.5°C within reach. 2024 was the first year that global heating exceeded 1.5°C for the first time ever. This is a deep concern, Johan Rockstron, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, told the Summit. "An ever deeper concern is that warming appears to be accelerating, outpacing emissions. The long-term average warming is now between 1.3 and 1.4°C. We are on a path to breach the 1.5°C. multi-decadal boundary within the next 5 - 10 years. We must return to a safe climate future," he said. 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in his opening statement, “the science demands action. The law commands it. The economics compel it. And people are calling for it.”  In the last ten years, projected global temperature rise has dropped from four degrees Celsius to less than three - if current NDCs are fully implemented. We are close to triggering fundamental and irreversible climate change. 

All countries are supposed to submit new national climate pledges to the UN before COP30, scheduled to start on 10 November in Belem, Brazil, said Matheson. ‘Yet the new pledges, while a step forward for some countries, still add up to a dangerous path.” In the past decade, projected global temperature rise has dropped from 4°C to less than 3°C - if current national climate plans (called Nationally Determined Contributions, NDCs) are fully implemented. Current commitments could lock in warming well beyond 1.5°C, with devastating consequences for communities already living with floods, droughts, wildfires, and rising seas. 

As of 29 September 2025, only 54 countries had submitted their climate pledges formally to the UNFCCC. Of these, only half of G20 countries have submitted their NDCs. 

Several major economies including China – the world’s largest emitter – as well as Nigeria, announced economy-wide emissions reduction targets covering all greenhouse gases and all sectors. Other nations detailed ambitious renewable energy goals, plans to curb methane emissions, strategies to safeguard forests, and measures to phase out fossil fuels. Leaders emphasized that accelerating the energy transition can unlock jobs, growth, and energy security.  Developing countries, meanwhile, underscored the importance of incorporating adaptation, resilience, and loss and damage measures within their NDCs, stressing the urgent need for scaled-up financing to meet and surpass their ambitions.

The biggest issue is clear: governments are still not moving fast enough to end reliance on coal, oil, and gas. Fossil fuels remain the largest driver of climate change, yet few leaders are making the bold decisions needed to phase them out. At the same time, renewable energy — now the cheapest form of new power in most parts of the world — is still not being rolled out at the speed or scale required. Decarbonizing major sectors such as energy, transport, and industry has barely begun in many countries.

This is disappointing — but not hopeless, said Matheson. The tools to close the gap are in our hands. Every year matters. Every decision matters. Stronger action on fossil fuel phase-out, faster investment in renewables, and clear policies to clean up polluting sectors could still put the world back on track.

The urgency is stark. Already, millions of people are facing climate-driven disasters, from record-breaking heatwaves in Europe and Asia to historic floods in Pakistan and West Africa. Without stronger global action, these events will only intensify. Yet at the same time, renewable energy is breaking records around the world, offering a glimpse of the cleaner, safer future within reach.” 

“As governments head to the international climate negotiations at COP30, the message is clear: the 1.5°C goal is still within reach, but only if leaders listen to the science, step up their ambition, and deliver on their promises — not someday, but today,” said Matheson.  

“The UN’s The Climate Summit should have shown leadership in loads. Yet with the UN deadline for updated NDCs fast approaching, only half of G20 countries—responsible for 80% of global emissions—have clarified their 2035 ambition,” she said. “We don’t have to keep failing. COP30 in Brazil must conclude with a credible global response plan to get us on track, and we will closely watch what the big emitters will do.” 

Read more about WWF is doing on NDCs here – www.panda.org/ndcs