A really simple guide to climate change — SkimNews
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Fossil fuels drive rapid human-caused warming: burning coal, oil and gas releases CO2 that traps heat, and atmospheric CO2 has risen by more than 50% since the Industrial Revolution.
- 2024 was Earth’s hottest year and the first calendar year above 1.5C versus pre-industrial levels; 2025 stayed high despite La Niña, while El Niño combined with climate change makes 2026 likely among the hottest ever. The Paris target concerns a 20-year average, not a single year.
- Nepal suffered flash floods in August 2026 that killed more than 1,400 people; World Weather Attribution said climate change increased the chances of the triggering glacier collapse, while Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle said rebuilding could cost up to one-tenth of the economy.
- IPCC estimates 3.3–3.6 billion people are highly vulnerable to climate change; poorer countries are expected to suffer most because they have fewer adaptation resources despite contributing a small share of emissions, while extreme-weather crop failures can raise food prices globally.
- UN Emissions Gap Report says the 1.5C limit is likely to be breached in coming years; returning to 1.5C by 2100 requires “urgent and stringent cuts,” while failure to do so would put global warming near 3C by the century’s end.
- Net-zero targets now exist or are being considered in most countries, and progress in renewable energy and electric vehicles is encouraging; nevertheless, CO2 emissions remain at record highs and caused long-term warming of 1.4C in 2025.
- COP30 ended in 2025 without new agreements on fossil fuels or deforestation, despite the 2023 COP28 pledge to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems. COP29 committed richer countries to at least $300bn a year by 2035 for developing nations, a sum poorer countries say is insufficient; COP31 is due in Turkey in November 2026.
Why it matters: Poorer countries bear the sharpest burden: the IPCC estimates 3.3–3.6 billion people are highly vulnerable, while COP29’s $300bn-a-year pledge by 2035 falls below developing nations’ stated needs. Extreme-weather crop failures can raise food prices globally, leaving countries with fewer adaptation resources to confront wider consequences.
Ask SkimNews
