Global Scans · Climate Action · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

• [New] Launched at the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference, the Global Cooling Pledge unites about 75 countries and 70 non-state actors in the objective to cut down cooling-related emissions by 68% by 2050, while ensuring equitable access to sustainable cooling solutions to address extreme heat. IIFIIR
• [New] Catastrophic floods in Nepal may have resulted from a hazard cascade that may have been amplified by climate change. Live Science
• [New] The Ministry of Climate Change & Environment created the UAE National Sustainable Consumption and Production Plan (2019-2030) to spur the shift to a circular economy at the federal level. Grc
• [New] By 2040-2060, climate and environmental pressures have intensified beyond historical design assumptions. Indico at ESA / ESTEC (Indico)
• [New] The critical role of advanced materials in the green transition, under the broader umbrella of the European Green Deal, has a long-term view targeting climate neutrality by 2050. Scientific Advice Mechanism
• [New] The Japanese beverage giant's latest climate-risk assessment estimates that carbon pricing could add ¥43.8bn to packaging costs by 2050 under its Sustainable Scenario, which assumes a stronger global shift towards a low-carbon economy. FoodNavigator.com
• [New] Declining agricultural yields could have a financial impact of ¥0.9 bn-¥2.6bn by 2050 under the Sustainable Scenario, rising to ¥3.1 bn-¥12.1bn under the High Degradation & Climate Change Progression Scenario. FoodNavigator.com
• [New] Carbon pricing could add ¥91.8bn to energy costs by 2050 under its Sustainable Scenario, compared with ¥3.8bn under the Middle Degradation Scenario and ¥3.1bn under the High Degradation & Climate Change Progression Scenario. FoodNavigator.com
• [New] Under Kirin's Middle Degradation Scenario, the estimated impact falls to ¥1.1bn by 2050, while the High Degradation & Climate Change Progression Scenario puts it at just ¥0.1bn. FoodNavigator.com
• [New] While the dissolution of USAID and other funding cuts exacerbate growing global demands to address public health, economic opportunity, and climate-related challenges, NGOs and social impact organizations are underwater, triaging widespread and complex needs against limited capacity. Stanford Social Innovation Review
• [New] A share of nearly 67.4% is expected to be held by the U.S. in 2026 in North America, as farmers are now using digital technologies to address labour shortages, rising input costs, and climate-related risks. Persistence Market Research
• [New] Heat stress from climate change will reduce labour productivity and GDP across Europe, with southern and south-eastern regions being the most affected. Climate Action
• [New] In the future, agricultural productivity and labour productivity are predicted in Australia to further decline due to climate change: by 2030, more than USD 19 billion; by 2050, more than USD 211 billion; and by 2100, more than USD 4 trillion are expected in accumulated wealth loss. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] The kind of increasingly frequent heatwaves we have experienced and greatly reduced rainfall that we could see over successive summers with climate change, plus a projected increase in demand for water, have raised the prospect that England could at some point run out of water. BBC News
• [New] Deadly landslides and floods in the Himalayas, where the recent Nepal-Tibet floods occurred, are becoming more frequent due to accelerating glacier melt caused by climate change, threatening lives and infrastructure. The Straits Times
• [New] Globally, 90% of all major disasters are due to climate-influenced hazards. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] There are renewed warnings that threats to food and water security in the Pacific arising from a stronger than usual El Nino climate pattern will compound the shocks emanating from the ongoing Middle East conflict. Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
• [New] Geopolitical & Climate Risks Red Sea and Middle East disruptions continue to affect vessel routing, while Panama Canal constraints and low Rhine River levels can further reduce effective capacity. LinkedIn
• The International Energy Agency emphasizes that, without SAF, commercial aviation does not have a credible pathway to align with climate objectives in 2050. Moeve Global
• Exceeding the 1.5 °C global heating limit raises the risks of irreversible climate tipping points and severe environmental damage. Greenpeace International
• Amid rising emissions and strong indications the El Nino will continue to develop in coming months and dominate global climate patterns in the August-October period, Berkeley Earth calculated there's a 69% chance that 2026 will become a record hot year. Greenpeace International
• Forecast to be a super El Nino, it is expected to usher in even more severe extreme weather events as the global climate edges closer and closer to temporarily overshooting the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial times. Greenpeace International

Last updated: 06 September 2026