Climate impacts on people and planet

A new global report warns that climate inaction is already claiming millions of lives every year. The 2025 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, produced with the World Health Organisation, finds that over half of key health indicators have hit record levels, from deadly heatwaves to food insecurity and economic strain.

Heat-related deaths have risen by 23% since the 1990s, reaching over half a million per year, while heat and drought have left 124 million people facing food insecurity. The economic toll is huge, with heat exposure alone costing over a trillion dollars in lost productivity.

Meanwhile, fossil fuel subsidies remain almost $1tn, far exceeding global climate finance. Yet there are signs of hope: renewable energy now powers 12% of global electricity and has created 16m jobs.

The World Health Organisation stresses that protecting people’s wellbeing must be at the heart of global policy ahead of COP30 in Brazil.

A new global study finds that no sector of the world’s economy is on track to limit global warming to 1.5C. The State of Climate Action 2025 report, produced by the Systems Change Lab with support from the Bezos Earth Fund and the World Resources Institute, shows that all 45 key climate indicators are missing their 2030 targets.

The report describes progress as alarmingly slow, with most sectors moving too sluggishly or even in the wrong direction. Fossil fuel financing has risen to around $1.5tn a year, and deforestation continues to worsen. Even electric vehicle adoption, once a bright spot, is now slowing in major markets.

Researchers say the pace of change must increase dramatically; coal needs to be phased out more than ten times faster, deforestation reduced nine times faster, and climate finance expanded by nearly a trillion dollars annually. Without this acceleration, the possibility of keeping warming to 1.5C will slip out of reach.

A French court has ruled that oil giant TotalEnergies misled the public about its climate commitments, marking the first time France’s new anti-greenwashing laws have been used against a fossil fuel company.

A Paris civil court found TotalEnergies made misleading statements about achieving carbon-neutrality by 2050 and being a major player in the energy transition, while expanding oil and gas production. The company now must take those statements off its website or face daily fines of up to €10,000.

TotalEnergies accepted the ruling but pointed out that some claims were dismissed. It says it remains committed to growing its renewables, with plans for 100GW of capacity by 2030.

Environmental groups welcomed the verdict. Greenpeace France called it a major step toward holding fossil fuel companies accountable for climate misinformation. Friends of the Earth said it proves that corporations can no longer hide behind vague green promises. 

The European Parliament has rejected proposals that would have weakened the EU’s sustainability and climate reporting rules.

The sustainability omnibus, a plan to simplify parts of the EU’s Green Deal laws, was narrowly voted down — 318 votes to 309 — after right-wing groups called for a secret ballot. The proposal would have removed around 80% of companies from the EU’s corporate sustainability reporting directive, and also eased supply-chain reporting rules.

NGO ShareAction called the result a reality check for those trying to push through deregulation without consultation, while WWF warned the secret-ballot vote revealed a worrying political shift away from strong environmental commitments in the European Parliament.

The defeat means the bill will now be renegotiated, with a new vote expected in mid-November.

Newly uncovered documents allege that oil giant ExxonMobil secretly funded groups spreading climate change denial in Latin America.

According to the site DeSmog, the oil and gas giant gave money to the Atlas Network – a coalition of free-market thinktanks – in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The goal was to make countries in Latin America less willing to support UN climate treaties.

According to these documents, ExxonMobil sent multiple payments to the think-tank ranging from $15,000 to $50,000 at a time. The funds paid for translations of climate-denial books, travel for American sceptics, and events where they met with local politicians and journalists. Atlas told Exxon this work would protect the company’s profits and investor returns, while keeping Exxon’s name out of sight.

Experts say this campaign helped sow mistrust and delay global climate action. Researchers at NGO Centre for Climate Integrity describe the campaign as a damaging chapter in climate diplomacy, while academics at Rio de Janeiro State University say its effects still shape global negotiations today.

Global food and packaging giants are calling for stronger international rules to curb plastic waste.

As reported by Reuters, companies including Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever have pledged to work together after UN negotiations on a global plastics treaty collapsed earlier this year.

Their new plan — the 2030 Plastics Agenda for Business, published by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation — calls for cross-industry cooperation and clearer government regulation to cut single-use plastics. Together, the signatories account for around 20% of global plastic packaging. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, signatories have tripled their use of recycled plastics since 2018, suggesting the market is ready for stronger policies.

While the report sets few concrete targets, it underscores growing pressure on corporations to act as governments fall behind. A Harvard University study also warns that many firms are now greenhushing, even as their recycling rates improve.

Wind power has saved the UK more than £100bn in energy costs since 2010. Research by University College London found that between 2010 and 2023, wind farms helped lower electricity bills by about £14bn, and reduced gas demand by more than £130bn. The study also found that more renewable energy across Europe helped decrease gas prices by cutting demand and avoiding new gas power stations.

Even after accounting for around £43bn in green subsidies, researchers say UK consumers still saved over £100bn overall.

Researchers say that green investment can be treated as a high-return national strategy rather than a cost – a point that comes as the UK government prepares its upcoming budget, where energy spending and climate commitments are expected to be under scrutiny. And it raises a broader question: if wind power can deliver savings on this scale, perhaps the true cost of green energy is far lower than its critics suggest. Experts at UCL and NGO RenewableUK add that reforming energy markets to reflect these savings could help bring bills down even further.

Whistleblowers are warning that the meat and dairy industry’s race for cheap food is putting the future of farming – and the planet – at risk. News organisation Edie reports that food industry insiders have accused major meat and dairy companies of promoting cheap, unsustainable supply chains that threaten long-term food security.

The warning comes from the non-profit Inside Track, which enables senior industry professionals to speak anonymously. It says UK farmers are being pushed toward intensive, low-cost production models that risk antibiotic resistance and local ecosystem collapse.

The group blames weak government incentives, trade deals allowing cheap imports, and lenient penalties for environmental damage – all worsened by the cost-of-living crisis driving consumers to buy cheaper, processed foods.

According to the report, large food companies are scaling back innovation in alternative proteins, lobbying against dietary change, and failing to assess how climate risks could disrupt their supply chains.

Inside Track’s director says company boards must take accountability for strategies that undermine both environmental and food security goals, calling it an “endemic failure of governance” across the industry.