Global Scans · Climate Action · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

• [New] The Climate Action Tracker (CAT) finds that the IMO's adoption of the NZF could decide whether the shipping sector's emissions would be consistent with global temperature rise being held near 2 °C - or allowed to drift toward 4 °C under a business-as-usual trajectory by 2050. Climate Analytics
• [New] Carbon capture and storage capacity must rise by 26 percent annually between 2030 and 2040, reaching 188 (56 to 257) million tonnes of CO2 annually The path to EU climate neutrality by 2050 is still feasible, as long as the EU now shapes the period up to 2040 with ambitious policies. EurekAlert!
• [New] In the reference pathway to climate neutrality, electricity generation from wind and solar will need to be seven times higher in 2040 than in the period from 2018 to 2022. EurekAlert!
• [New] One finding is that the EU climate transition, at minimal cost and under the most plausible scenario assumptions, would require a reduction of 2040 net greenhouse gas emissions by 86%, relative to 1990. EurekAlert!
• [New] The Global Goal on Adaptation, established under the Paris Agreement and operationalised via the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience, aims to enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience, and reduce vulnerability. Nature
• [New] Wisconsin's $116.3 billion agriculture industry could face $385 million in annual climate-related losses based on the effect of projected heat on crop growth, but diversifying crops and other water management strategies could help. Urban Milwaukee
• [New] Additionally, global commodity price volatility and climate-related shocks - such as droughts affecting agriculture - pose threats to near-term prospects and add to international trade tensions. Allianz Trade Corporate
• [New] Heat-related mortality among the elderly was projected to rise by more than 250% in the 2080s under RCP8.5 and a medium population growth scenario in China, and the global meningitis incidence was projected to increase by more than 180% in severe climate change scenarios by 2100. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] Considering that more than 80% of the global population currently resides in LMICs, climate change, therefore, risks impacting a massive proportion of the global population. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] Put another way, populations in LMICs, already confronted with profound health inequities, and the least responsible for global carbon emissions, are at risk of suffering the greatest burden of adverse health outcomes due to climate change. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] Risks associated with climate effects are rapidly evolving and will become more severe on a timeframe that is shorter than previously assumed. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] With globalization, increasing human population, climate change, and other factors, global vulnerabilities to emerging diseases, including pandemics, are growing. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] A new University of Oxford study finds that almost half of the global population (3.79 billion) will be living with extreme heat by 2050 if the world reaches 2.0 °C of global warming above pre-industrial levels - a scenario that climate scientists see as increasingly likely. Oxford University
• [New] Scale up international climate finance: Delivering the $300 billion global climate finance goal will require predictable, grant-based public finance and stronger contributions from European governments. Plant-for-the-Planet Foundation
• [New] Non-native trees that are notably climate-resilient, such as Mediterranean stone pine, have been planted to protect habitats supported by native species such as Scots pine, which is threatened by global heating in the UK. The Guardian
• [New] Quantum AI will revolutionize sectors requiring massive computation, including drug discovery and climate modeling, within the next decade. AI Everywhere Briefing
• [New] Given the longevity of industrial installations, major transformation progress is already required by 2040 to put industry on track for climate neutrality. Nature
• [New] Existing and announced solar PV and battery projects are already enough to achieve the global climate goal of tripling renewable capacity by 2030. ZNetwork
• [New] The future of plant breeding will increasingly integrate genetics, biotechnology and advanced data analysis to accelerate the development of more productive, resilient and sustainable crops capable of addressing climate change and global food security challenges. Seed World
• [New] Achieving global climate targets will require a fundamental shift in how humans interact with the natural world. EnviroLink Network - The environmental news site since
• [New] A powerful climate pattern known as a Super El Nino may be developing as early as late 2026, and if it does, it could reshape travel plans worldwide. Yahoo
• [New] Experts warn there's a 61% chance of the El Nino climate phenomenon striking by mid-2026; historically for the Caribbean region, El Nino has brought heatwaves, drought and crop failure. UN News

Last updated: 26 April 2026