Has optimism about the goal of limiting the global temperature rise set at the 2015 Paris Summit waned? Do the annual climate summits generate only rhetoric rather than the tangible outcomes needed to lower global greenhouse emissions?
These questions focus on the efficacy of the Paris Agreement, emphasising increasing worries like the gap between established goals and actual execution.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement and a new round for submitting Nationally Determined Contributions. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the severe consequences brought by global warming on social and economic development at the Belém Climate Summit, ahead of the COP30.
"Every fraction of a degree means more hunger, displacement, and loss – especially for those least responsible," the Secretary-General was quoted by news agencies as saying.
The reality is that the planet has changed considerably in the decade since the historic Paris Accord, although not completely in the manner the signatories expected or hoped for.
According to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, the planet's yearly temperature increased roughly 0.46 degrees Celsius since 2015, marking one of the largest temperature surges over a decade on record.
The European climate service agency report indicates an ongoing trend of unprecedented temperatures, with October 2025 ranking as the third hottest globally and the year from July 2024 to June 2025 seeing an average of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
The report's key findings indicate that the global average temperature in 2025 is expected to rank among the three warmest years, as the last three years have recorded an average exceeding 1.5°C for the first time.
“This is linked to consistently elevated land and ocean surface temperatures caused by the build-up of greenhouse gases,” says the report issued just prior to the COP30 climate summit in São Paulo, Brazil.
Brazil launched three weeks of activities related to the summit in Belém, where leaders convene to advocate for enhanced policies to finance the energy transition, although the pace is insufficient to avert increasingly severe climate consequences, and advancements are still inconsistent.
Even at the peak, numerous challenges remain for climate action and international cooperation. US President Donald Trump labelled climate change a hoax and pulled the US out of the Paris climate agreements on his first day in office. Debates are occurring regarding a slowdown in certain regions of Europe.
Notably, over the past ten years, developing nations, both large and small, have been crucial in steering the world toward a more secure direction. They have pushed for increased ambition in low-carbon strategies represented by more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in line with the Paris Agreement.
They have illustrated the potential of climate-sensitive development and established it, as highlighted by Dr Abdullah bin Ali al Amri, Chairman of the Environment Authority, in Belém before the COP30 Summit.
"Oman Vision 2040 has identified the three environmental agreements as a key national priority and has progressed in executing the national strategy for carbon neutrality, establishing the national carbon register, and enhancing Article 6 policies of the Paris Agreement, along with advancing renewable energy initiatives," he mentioned.
Earth’s increasing temperatures have escalated more rapidly than humanity's capacity to decrease dependence on coal, oil, and natural gas, which emit carbon emissions that drive global warming.
As the consequences of climate change become increasingly evident, so too do the advantages of taking action. What we require at this moment is a significant shift. The world needs to shift from establishing goals to achieving them.
Leaders need to reach a consensus on a decisive worldwide reaction to reaffirm the objective and establish a framework that outlines how to bridge the gap to meet the goal and speed up sector-specific approaches to reduce emissions.
Ultimately, if nations commit to their current pledges, they might prevent just over one degree Celsius of temperature rise. It might not seem significant, but every tenth of a degree is crucial regarding the impact of disastrous weather!
Samuel Kutty
The writer is a freelance journalist and author who worked in Oman and India
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
