According to the annual Adaptation Finance Gap Report published by the UN Environment Programme, even if developed countries triple the amount of funds allocated to support developing countries in adapting to climate change by 2035, this will not be enough to cover even one-third of the necessary funds to protect populations from the devastating consequences of global warming.
This report was presented on the eve of the thirty-first session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31).
The Green Climate Fund Council approved the regional program CLiCA, aimed at increasing the resilience of Central Asian landscapes to the effects of climate change. Under this program, Uzbekistan will receive 103.7 million euros, which is the largest share among all participating countries.
These funds are intended to support farmers and restore ecosystems. The total budget for the entire program is 264.4 million euros. The project was developed by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in collaboration with Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Coordination of the work on the Uzbek side was carried out by the National Center for Climate Change under the Committee on Ecology.
In Uzbekistan, this initiative plans work across an area of 164 thousand hectares, including forests, pastures, and agricultural lands. Methods that promote the conservation of natural resources and increase the sustainability of agriculture against climate shifts will be applied there.
A significant portion of the allocated money will go towards supporting farmers, providing them with additional opportunities to attract financing needed to implement new technologies and adapt their farms to the changing climate. The project is expected to protect 342 thousand residents of Uzbekistan from climate threats, with about half of them being women.
Furthermore, the program provides for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing their absorption by 1.07 million tons of CO₂ equivalent. The CLiCA program unites the efforts of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan in nature conservation and land restoration tasks, paying special attention to territories and residents most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. Previously, Uzbekistan had proposed using artificial intelligence to combat poaching and create a network of reserves in Central Asia.
Atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases registered new peaks in 2025, increasing heat retention on the planet and accelerating global warming, according to a recent report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released on Tuesday, the 27th.
The United Nations (UN) agency reported that the global average of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main gas associated with human-induced warming, reached 426.8 parts per million (ppm) in 2025. This value corresponds to 153% of the level existing in the pre-industrial era of 1750. In practical terms, this means that about 427 air molecules out of a million are composed of carbon dioxide.
This data also signals a 53% increase compared to the period before industrialization. Although the increase in CO2 compared to 2024 was only 2.8 ppm, the total volume remains higher than the average observed in recent decades. The WMO points out that the rate of CO2 growth in the atmosphere has tripled since the 1960s; during that period, the average increase was 0.8 ppm annually, rising to 2.4 ppm between 2011 and 2020.
Since the agency began publishing its annual greenhouse gas bulletin in 2004, the global average concentration of CO2 was 377.5 ppm.
Ko Barrett, WMO Deputy Secretary-General, commented that 'another year, another new record. Greenhouse gases are retaining an unprecedented amount of heat in the atmosphere, providing energy for more extreme weather phenomena and increasing risks to our economies and societies.' She added that 'the last 11 years have been the hottest ever recorded, and this trend is expected to continue. CO2 remains in the atmosphere for a long time, and therefore, it will affect the global climate not just for years, but for decades and even centuries.'
The report also highlighted that methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), two other long-lived greenhouse gases, also reached unprecedented levels.
In 2025, methane registered a global average of 1,948 parts per billion (ppb), which is equivalent to 267% of the pre-industrial level, representing a 167% increase compared to 1750. About 65% of these emissions come from human activities, such as livestock farming, rice cultivation, fossil fuel extraction, landfills, and vegetation burning, while the remaining 35% are of natural origin, such as wetlands.
Regarding nitrous oxide, the third long-lived greenhouse gas, it reached an average of 339.1 ppb in 2025, corresponding to 126% of the 1750 level, or 26% above the record from that period. This gas is released by both natural processes and human interventions, mainly due to the use of agricultural fertilizers, vegetation burning, and certain industrial processes.
The WMO emphasizes that the constant increase in these concentrations implies that the atmosphere is accumulating more and more heat. Data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) indicates that between 1990 and 2025, the warming impact generated by these long-lived gases grew by 56%, with CO2 being responsible for approximately 81% of this increase.
The agency clarifies that the figures presented reflect the total amount of gases accumulated in the atmosphere, not just the volume emitted in the last year. The UN warns that events such as extreme heatwaves, droughts, and severe floods have impacted millions of people and generated billions of dollars in losses just this year.
This happens because approximately half of the CO2 released annually remains in the atmosphere, while the rest is absorbed by the oceans and terrestrial ecosystems, such as forests. However, the capacity of these environments to remove carbon from the air can vary depending on climatic conditions.
According to the WMO, the slower growth in CO2 concentration between 2024 and 2025 is due to the recovery of the carbon absorption capacity of terrestrial ecosystems and the decrease in emissions caused by forest fires. Oksana Tarasova, a WMO scientist, explained that 'the more moderate growth between 2024 and 2025 reflects the recovery of carbon absorption capacity by terrestrial ecosystems and the reduction in emissions caused by fires in 2025, after the strong El Niño of 2023 and 2024.'
Despite this slowdown in pace, the expert warns that the amount of carbon accumulated in the atmosphere continues to rise. She stated that 'an annual increase of 2.8 ppm still represents a significant amount of carbon added to the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels.'
The WMO also projects that CO2 concentrations will continue to rise in 2026, driven by the use of fossil fuels and the possibility of an intense El Niño, which could again compromise the vegetation's carbon absorption capacity. Furthermore, the agency warns that climate change may decrease the oceans' ability to absorb CO2, resulting in a larger proportion of emissions remaining in the atmosphere.
In the run-up to COP31, the climate goals recently presented by countries indicate a possible decrease in global greenhouse gas emissions of only 6% by the year 2035. This percentage represents a reduction ten times lower than what is necessary to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
This alert was issued by the United Nations (UN), which points out that despite the commitments made since the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015, the planet is still far from controlling its temperature increase.
The assessment, released this Tuesday (27) by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), occurs shortly before COP31, scheduled to take place between November 9 and 20 in Antalya, Turkey.
The document analyzed 127 new national climate goals, known as NDCs, which were submitted between January 2024 and August 2026. These goals cover 154 participants in the Paris Agreement, including the European Union and its members, who are responsible for about 71% of global emissions recorded in 2019, excluding deforestation and land use changes.
According to the UN, even if all new commitments are fully met, global emissions will tend to be only 6% below 2019 levels on average by 2035. To keep warming within the 1.5°C limit, or with a small and temporary excess, emissions should fall by approximately 60% in the same period, according to estimates from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The 1.5°C target was established by the Paris Agreement in 2015 with the aim of preventing severe climate impacts, such as droughts, sea-level rise, and glacier melt. However, recent studies suggest that the world may have already surpassed this critical point. To limit the temperature increase to less than 2°C, the required reduction would be approximately 37%.
The UN also calculated that if all actions planned in the new goals are fully implemented, including those depending on international support and funding, the reduction could reach 9% by 2035. Although these goals are the main mechanism of the Paris Agreement against the climate crisis, the document signals that global emissions may peak before 2030 and only begin to decline in subsequent years.
The projection indicates that the annual volume of greenhouse gases should be between 49.6 billion and 55.9 billion tons of CO2 equivalent in 2035. This metric allows for the summation of various gases, taking into account the warming potential of each.
However, the predicted reduction will still be insufficient to prevent the planet from exceeding the 1.5°C limit. Based on national goals and future projections, global warming could reach 3.2°C by the end of the century.
The UN report also offers a second estimate, considering countries' long-term objectives, such as the commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century. In this scenario, projected warming would be between 1.7°C and 2.3°C by 2100, provided that countries meet their long-term goals and adopt reduction measures in the coming decades.
Additionally, the report warns that the CO2 emission limit compatible with the 1.5°C goal, known as the carbon budget, may be exhausted before 2030. According to the UN, this limit is about 130 billion tons of CO2 starting from early 2026, which is equivalent to approximately three years of current global emissions. In contrast, the forecast indicates that countries will emit about 368 billion tons of CO2 between 2026 and 2035, a volume almost three times higher than the limit available to keep warming at 1.5°C.
Despite the results presented, the UN recognizes that governments have incorporated more climate change combat initiatives into their national goals. Approximately 90% of the participating countries analyzed declared that they had taken into account the conclusions of the first global stocktake of the Paris Agreement, held at COP28 in Dubai in 2023.
Furthermore, 99% of countries presented internal measures to reduce emissions, focusing primarily on the energy, transport, industry, agriculture, and waste management sectors. Energy transition is among the central priorities for countries, according to the UN analysis.
The percentage of participants who proposed modernizing electricity grids increased from 51% to 70%, while the proportion of those planning to expand energy storage rose from 33% to 56%. The report also highlights that 92% of participants included methane in their climate goals and 90% presented commitments related to land use and forests, such as reforestation and combating deforestation.
However, the advances show inequality. A second report, based on 137 national documents released this Tuesday, revealed that 61 participants progressed towards climate goals, while another 27 moved away from the objectives or showed mixed results. The UN emphasizes that such progress does not guarantee that countries are reducing their emissions at the necessary rate to meet agreements.
Adaptation to the effects of climate change also gained prominence in the new goals. The UN reported that 86% of participants integrated measures in this area, aiming to protect food production, water resources, and health, in addition to preventing disasters.
Among these countries, 92% mentioned losses and damages caused by climate change, such as economic losses, infrastructure destruction, and deaths in extreme events, a number higher than the 56% registered in previous goals.
Nevertheless, the implementation of these measures faces obstacles. By October 2026, 81 developing nations had presented national adaptation plans, but 36 of the 41 plans evaluated among small island states and least developed countries were still in initial stages of implementation.
Financing remains a significant challenge. Global climate investments reached an average of US$ 1.9 trillion annually in 2023 and 2024, representing a 32% growth compared to the previous two-year period. Of this amount, only 9% was directed to international transfers to developing countries, corresponding to approximately US$ 183 billion annually.
Resources specifically allocated to adaptation totaled US$ 63 billion per year, which constitutes a 20% drop and represents only 3% of identified global climate financing. On the other hand, developed countries exceeded the promise to mobilize US$ 100 billion annually to support developing nations in 2023 and 2024, reaching US$ 132.8 billion and US$ 136.7 billion, respectively. It should be noted that this goal was originally supposed to be met in 2020.
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