Rising investment in renewable energy is one of the most important elements of the global response to the climate crisis. Scientists point out, however, that strengthening natural systems is becoming equally essential. Forests, wetlands, rivers and oceans help absorb carbon dioxide, regulate water cycles and increase societies’ resilience to the impacts of climate change. Without protecting ecosystems, achieving climate goals may prove impossible.
“Anthropogenic climate change is happening very rapidly, and much faster than we once estimated. In 2024, the average global temperature was more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average. This is an alarming signal sent to us by the planet. Scientists have long urged us to do everything possible to keep the rise in average temperature below 1.5°C, yet we have already crossed that threshold,” Maria Andrzejewska, Director General of UNEP/GRID-Warsaw, told Newseria. “That is why this year’s World Environment Day is being held under the slogan #NowForClimate. It is a call to action: let us get to work, let us not remain passive, let us act.”
Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries committed themselves to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit global warming to below 1.5°C. However, according to the United Nations Environment Programme, apart from minor declines, emissions have continued to rise since the 1850s and reached a record level of almost 58 billion tonnes in 2024.
The past 11 years have been the warmest on record. Despite the growth of renewable energy and successive commitments made by governments, the world is still not moving close enough to the goal of limiting temperature growth to 1.5°C. UNEP warns that delay will make future action substantially more expensive and more radical.
“Climate action is accelerating in some parts of the world, while in others it is being held back. Europe is talking about climate transformation, and China is also undergoing an enormous shift. We can see how rapidly the use of green technologies and the production of green energy are growing there. On the other hand, the United States is blocking its own action and, in some cases, even denying the information presented by scientists,” Andrzejewska says.
“Under decisions taken by President Trump’s administration, the ocean-monitoring and research system is not necessarily being eliminated altogether, but it is being significantly reduced. Yet this system is essential if we are to understand how the planet is changing.”
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency’s Renewable Capacity Statistics 2026 report, a record 692 GW of renewable-energy capacity was added globally in 2025, an increase of 15.5% year on year. Asia remained the main driver of this growth, accounting for 74.2% of all new renewable capacity. The region increased its renewable capacity by 21.6% in 2025. Strong growth was also recorded in Africa, at 15.9%, and in the Middle East, at 28.9%. In Europe, year-on-year growth reached 9%, while North America recorded an increase of 7.4%. Overall, renewable sources now account for 49.4% of global electricity-generation capacity.
“Investments supporting the climate transition have their cost, but there is another type of investment that we discuss as part of World Environment Day. These are investments in nature: restoring, maintaining and protecting the environment, which is a natural carbon sink,” explains the UNEP/GRID-Warsaw Director General. “What holds us back most is insufficient awareness of the importance of natural ecosystems, but also a lack of long-term thinking.”
UNEP estimates that if countries remain on their current path, the Earth could warm by between 2.5°C and 4.6°C by the end of this century. If they fulfil their climate commitments, the range would fall to between 2.1°C and 2.9°C. According to the organisation’s projections, exceeding 2°C of warming would make the loss of almost all warm-water corals likely, destroying reefs that support coastal ecosystems. At 3°C of warming, the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets would most likely collapse, causing sea levels to rise and coastlines to flood. At 4°C of warming, the Amazon rainforest could shift into savannah, releasing enormous amounts of stored carbon and further deepening the climate crisis.
“The climate strategy pursued so far, as we can see, has not delivered sufficiently good results. Otherwise, we would not be seeing such changes in the environment,” Andrzejewska argues. “We strongly emphasise the need to accelerate the climate transition and use technological solutions that can improve energy efficiency, so that we consume as little energy as possible and ensure that this energy is green rather than based on fossil fuels.”
“We should also always ask whether the things we buy are really necessary, because the overproduction of consumer goods has a very negative impact on the planet and intensifies anthropogenic climate change.”
UNEP stresses that the energy transition and nature protection must go hand in hand. Natural ecosystems not only absorb carbon dioxide, but also help limit the effects of droughts, floods and other extreme weather events. Their degradation weakens their capacity to store carbon, retain water and mitigate the impacts of climate change. According to IPBES, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, as many as one million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction, while the pace of biodiversity loss is unprecedented in human history.
“We most often think about what will happen tomorrow, next week or next year. In the case of natural ecosystems, however, we need to look ahead several decades,” Andrzejewska says. “Restoring some of them, including forests, takes a great deal of time, while some species lost as a result of human pressure will never return.”
