The uncharted territory

December 15, 2025

The world has already crossed into “uncharted territory” as the climate and environmental crisis accelerates, with future global warming likely to exceed earlier United Nations projections, according to a major UN report released on December 9, 2025. The warning comes amid a series of scientific assessments published around the 30th Conference of Parties (COP30) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Belém, Brazil.

Many of these assessments point to a rapidly narrowing window to avert the worst impacts of climate change. Based on current national pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the report projects that global average temperatures could rise between 2.4°C and 3.9°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. This trajectory falls well short of the Paris Agreement goals to limit warming to well below 2°C and preferably to 1.5°C above 1850–1900 levels.

The report, The Global Environment Outlook, Seventh Edition: A Future We Choose, prepared by the UN Environment Programme with contributions from nearly 300 scientists across 82 countries, also highlights a deepening biodiversity crisis. Around one million species nearly one-eighth of all known species are now threatened with decline, with genetic diversity steadily eroding. Asia has been identified as one of the most vulnerable regions. UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said the report presents both a warning and a choice. She noted that transforming key systems such as energy, food and transport could prevent up to nine million premature deaths by 2050, largely by reducing air pollution. Such changes could also lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and undernourishment and significantly expand access to safe drinking water. While the upfront investment would be substantial, the long-term economic benefits could reach $20 trillion annually by 2070.
Staying on the current path, however, would have severe consequences. Climate change alone could reduce global GDP by four per cent by mid-century, drive forced migration and intensify health and livelihood risks.
The report warns that environmental pressures are reinforcing one another. Global warming may exceed previous estimates, increasing the risk of irreversible tipping points such as ice-sheet collapse, coral reef loss and forest dieback. Land degradation already affects up to 40 per cent of the planet, while solid waste generation is projected to nearly double by 2050. In the Asia-Pacific region, progress towards sustainability remains limited. Only 17 per cent of the Sustainable Development Goals have been achieved so far, and the region is on track to miss most targets by 2030. Climate experts say countries like India face heightened risks but also have an opportunity to lead by accelerating clean energy transitions, strengthening governance and ensuring a just shift away from fossil fuels.