COP30: Yearbook of Global Climate Action shows real-economy momentum

Belém, 11 November 2025 — As world leaders gather for COP30, the Yearbook of Global Climate Action 2025 reveals a decisive shift from promises to delivery — showing how cities, regions, businesses, investors and communities are driving climate action implementation at scale, across each of the axes of the Action Agenda. The Yearbook also highlights that significant gaps persist, underscoring the need to accelerate implementation in line with the Global Stocktake – the UN’s official report card on climate progress.

Produced by UN Climate Change and the Climate High-Level Champions, the Yearbook tracks progress, enhances transparency, and connects ambition with implementation across the global climate community. This ninth Yearbook lands at a pivotal moment: the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, with whole-of-society implementation building including 95 per cent of countries now engaging cities, businesses, and civil society in implementing national climate plans (NDCs 3.0).

The message is clear: action is accelerating — and governments can now harness that momentum with ambitious, investable national plans.

The Yearbook charts rapid growth across the real economy and indicates where further action is required. Note that all data sources are detailed in the report.

• Energy transition — progress made, more needed to triple renewables: Renewable energy capacity has more than doubled from 1,900 gigawatts in 2015 to 4,448 gigawatts in 2024. Yet annual growth remains insufficient to meet the goal to triple renewable energy by 2030.

• Resilience action continues to grow: Race to Resilience partners report 437 million people with increased resilience, USD 4.2 billion deployed for adaptation, and 18 million hectares of nature protected.

However, gaps are also identified:

• Health, skills and equity require greater focus: Early-warning systems now cover 55 per cent of people (up from 44 per cent in 2015), but health adaptation receives less than six per cent of climate finance, and green-skills shortages could slow fair transitions.

• Nature protection: Currently less than 18 per cent of land and inland waters are protected, revealing a clear gap in reaching the Global Biodiversity Framework's 30x30 goal. This shows we need stronger land rights, fair funding, and strict rules against destroying forests or other ecosystems to protect Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and nature.

“The real economy should be powered by – and benefit from – green science and technology. But we must be guided by equity and solidarity, always putting people and the impacts on lives and livelihoods at the centre of the climate agenda,” said Nigar Arpadarai, Climate High-Level Champion for COP29.

“The spirit of mutirão – collective effort – embodies what success must look like at COP30 and beyond: everyone, everywhere, working together to achieve measurable progress,” added Dan Ioschpe, Climate High-Level Champion for COP30.

The COP30 Climate Action Agenda structures collaboration across six interconnected areas: energy, industry and transport; forests, oceans and biodiversity; agriculture and food systems; cities, infrastructure and water; human and social development; and enablers such as finance, technology and capacity building.

To strengthen transparency, the Yearbook introduces a new tracking framework, drawn from well-established sources and aimed at enhancing year-on-year comparability and transparency of progress. Another key element introduced by COP30 Action Agenda is the development of initiative-level indicators, designed to shed light on how climate initiatives created in the past can better demonstrate the delivery of concrete results. Over 150 coalitions reported their progress indicators — a 420% increase in transparency since last year.

Inclusion and Innovation in the Next Phase of Climate Action

Since the Paris Agreement, 350+ cooperative initiatives have mobilised, led increasingly by businesses and subnational actors. But the Yearbook warns that participation and investment still skew toward high-income regions — highlighting the need for targeted finance and capacity support to scale results everywhere.

The next wave of digital and AI-driven solutions, climate-resilient infrastructure, and integrated planning tools is reshaping how countries deliver on their NDCs. Nearly all now quantify finance, technology and capacity needs, showing a growing focus on implementation.

A Collective Call to Accelerate

The Yearbook closes with a call to embody the spirit of mutirão — Brazil’s tradition of collective effort for a shared goal.

As governments finalise their NDCs 3.0, the Champions urge alignment across national policy, local implementation and private investment to transform ambition into outcomes.