Greenhouse Gas

As the federal government aggressively abdicates its traditional leadership role in climate science, the burden of addressing global warming is rapidly shifting to state and local governments, as well as the private sector.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has confirmed that 2025 ranked as one of the three warmest years on record, underscoring the relentless grip of human-driven climate change even amid natural cooling influences.

Consumer confusion exacerbates the issue. In the US, 6 per cent of waste – 3 billion pounds worth $7 billion – stems from misreading labels like “Sell by” (for retailers) or “Best if used by” (peak quality), prompting premature discards of safe food.

According to the Global Methane Status Report 2025, global anthropogenic methane emissions reached approximately 352 million tonnes per year in 2020.

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 developing nations, which often host vulnerable ecosystems and communities yet bear the least historic responsibility for emissions, the risks are particularly acute. The...