Ahead of the Conference of Parties (COP 30) in Belem, Brazil, next month, the United Nations made public a ‘synthesis report,’ on Tuesday (October 28, 2025), that finds countries are poised to reduce emissions only 17% of 2019 levels by 2035 — well below what is required to keep the earth from heating up 1.5C or even 2C by the end of the century.

To keep temperatures below 2C and 1.5C, countries must cut emissions 37% and 57% respectively of 2019 levels by 2035.

The synthesis is based on countries’ updated nationally determined contributions (NDC), which are promises to cut fossil fuel emissions or plant forests (to capture carbon dioxide) until 2035. Tuesday’s report is only a partial picture as only 64, out of a potential 190 countries, have submitted updated NDCs until September 30. I

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