Major climate monitoring centres around the world – including the World Meteorological Organization, NASA, the United Kingdom’s Met Office and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service – have recently released their annual assessments in a coordinated way. Although the reports’ exact temperature figures differ by a few tenths of a degree – based on slightly different datasets and analytical methods – they all point in the same direction: Global warming – mainly driven by human emissions – is increasing rapidly. Some worrying outcomes: For the third year in a row, Earth’s average temperature was close to 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than the climate that maintained human civilizations as the 20th century began – before fossil-fuel pollution started damaging the atmosphere.

Research shows that warming by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the baseline will imply the end of nearly all global glaciers and coral reefs. It also marks a dangerous red zone for damage and destruction of ecosystems, food supplies, human health and infrastructure. Together, the findings indicate the urgent need to accelerate a transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels.

It appears that most of the world is moving hastily in this direction. Globally, 70% of the increase in electricity demand in 2024 was met with renewable energy, such as wind and solar. In the US however, recent progress in the clean energy transition is faced with significant negative counter actions. As of January 2026, the country has not only cut back landmark 2021-2022 policies to boost clean energy and climate resilience, but is also withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Without a change of course, it means that the country and the world are likely to experience more of the extreme heat, wildfires, flash floods, and damaging hurricanes that occurred in 2025.