Reality of climate action And environment
- Chirag Kumar
- Feb 20
- 4 min read
Can humanity still realign development with ecological limits when climate change is no longer a future risk but a present-day crisis? This question lies at the heart of climate action debates in 2025, a year that has reinforced the urgency of protecting the environment while exposing the gaps between global promises and real life outcomes. Climate action refers to efforts taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapting natural and human systems to the impacts of climate change.The environment which comprises of biotic and abiotic elements like air, water, land, biodiversity and ecosystems, is both the prey of climate change and a pivotal part of its solution.
2025 was the joint-second hottest year on record, marking a continuation of the exceptionally high warming trend the world has witnessed in the past decade.The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said that the year 2025 was either the second or third warmest year since records began around 1850.The increase in extreme heat is a direct result of Global Warming, caused by increase in greenhouse gases like CO2,CH4,N2O etc. Rising concentrations of carbon dioxide—now exceeding 420 parts per million have intensified heatwaves, floods, droughts and storms across the continents. Forests, which act as major carbon sinks, are shrinking due to deforestation and wildfires. In India also in the year 2025, India–Pakistan heatwave delivered temperatures exceeding 48°C in parts of Rajasthan, causing hundreds of deaths and serious health crises.
Floods in Punjab during the monsoon drowned hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and displaced millions.Widespread bleaching has also been confirmed across other parts of the Indian Ocean basin, as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. India’s climate policy mechanisms also faced challenges. The country did not submit updated climate action pledges (NDCs-Nationally Determined Contributions) by key 2025 deadlines under the Paris Agreement, reflecting broader global delays in raising ambition. India’s global climate rankings slipped significantly in 2025, as reforms in renewable energy and emissions reduction struggled to keep pace with global improvements in other major economies.
High profile climate diplomacy in 2025—such as the COP30 summit, Global plastic treaty, Climate finance etc highlighted deep divisions between policies on paper and their actual practice. The first UN global climate conference hosted in Brazil was the historic Rio Earth Summit of 1992, which laid the foundation for international climate cooperation. COP30, held decades later, aimed to push implementation on climate finance, adaptation, loss and damage, and a managed transition away from fossil fuels. However, COP30 ultimately failed to deliver binding outcomes as strong opposition from major petroleum-exporting states like Saudi Arabia, Russia and the Arab Groups resisted firm commitments on fossil fuel phase-out. And ultimately after two intense weeks of discussions and debates, and despite the participation of more than 80 countries and many organisations, at last a compromise was declared —a non compulsory “roadmap” for transitioning away from fossil fuels, which is supposed to operate outside the formal UN framework.
Similarly, Global Plastic Treaty Negotiations ended without a deal for the second time. It was supposed to be the second and final session of the fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC). In the same year, scientists confirmed the largest Coral Bleaching Event on record, affecting nearly 84% of World’s Reefs. Coral bleaching occurs due to increased ocean temperatures caused by carbon pollution and climate change, which drives algae away from coral reefs, causing reefs to lose their vibrant colours. Tropical cyclones also proved to be disastrous, killing more than 1,800 people and some 1.2 million were left stranded after two overlapping tropical cyclones hit Ditwah and Senyar –Indonesia’s Sumatra region and Peninsular Malaysia simultaneously, triggering deadly floods and landslides.
Despite alarming trends, 2025 also saw advancements in Climate Activism globally. In March 2025, strikes such as “Fridays for Future” and “Extinction Rebellion” mobilized millions across Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Similarly youth leaders, indigenous groups from the Amazon, and frontline communities used protests, litigation, and social media campaigns to expose greenwashing and pressure governments, particularly oil-producing states, to act beyond symbolic pledges. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres restated that “delay is denial,” a phrase widely reverberated by activists. Activists also highlighted climate justice,and raised voice against those who suffer the most severe impacts besides being least responsible for emissions, thus making public accountability a central demand of the movement. Alongside this, 2025 also saw notable advancements in renewable energy growth, in increasing climate capital investments, net zero targets and in international attention to glacier preservation.
Yet these advances were often overshadowed by unresolved problems of plastic pollution negotiations faltering without a global treaty; fossil fuels continuing to enjoy political support in many countries; and climate vulnerability especially for the poor and marginalized remaining entrenched; thus reflecting a continuing gap amid goal and implementation. By the end of 2025, it was clear that climate change is not a distant threat—it is now a pervasive reality. Scientific data highlights the urgency for rapid emission cuts, resilient infrastructure, equitable adaptation strategies, and effective implementation of environmental policies at local, national, and global scales. India is also in an urgent need for implementation of stricter environment policies that will be essential not only on paper, but also in reality.
So as we have moved into 2026, one question remains-
Can governments, businesses, and citizens bridge the gap between climate commitments and climate realities before the next wave of irreversible environmental impacts unfolds?
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WRITER CREDITS
Esha Musadiq is a First year political science student..
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