In 2025, global emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels are projected to reach an unprecedented level, underscoring the widening gap between climate ambition and reality.
While the gathering in Belém sets the tone for two weeks of negotiations, the key test will be whether developed countries step up to match rhetoric with financial, technological and capacity-building support. India and its partners argue that ambition without means is hollow.
UNEP has found that fewer than one-third of the countries party to the Paris Agreement submitted updated climate commitments by the end of September 2025.
For policymakers, the message is urgent: hold the affluent accountable, shift the direction of climate finance and action, and embed fairness and justice at the heart of every emissions-cutting strategy.
Balancing genuine efforts to combat illicit finance with the protection of civic space remains a test that international standards – and international observers – will closely watch.
The developments in Nepal illustrate a familiar tension across many democracies: the challenge of establishing effective self-regulation and accountability mechanisms without creating tools that could be used to constrain critical reporting.
Balancing genuine efforts to combat illicit finance with the protection of civic space remains a test that international standards – and international observers – will closely watch.