INEQUITY, INEQUALITY, INACTION

The Report proves that the NDCs approach to international climate action where governments simply define what they are willing to do without any due regard for the consequences for the common climate goal, or for the principles of equity and fairness, and for what the science says is failing.  Governments must be compelled through citizens actions to do what is right for humanity and for the planet.  This is a call that we, all citizens of the world, must step up and escalate pressure on all governments, but especially those from the Global North.

Climate ambition and climate justice are not competing visions - they are one and the same. But both are being strangled by elite capture and fossil lies. Belém must break that grip, reset cooperation on fair shares, and put power back in the hands of people and communities. The Global North must end its wealth hoarding and deliver its overdue debt - in trillions for climate finance, in a rapid fossil-fuel phaseout, and in restoring trust through real solidarity, not empty rhetoric.

Ten years after the Paris Agreement we see the familiar story of wealthy Global North countries falling far short of delivering their fair share of emissions reductions and international climate finance, even as they gaslight and blame larger Global South countries for the accelerating climate crisis. Conversely, the majority of Global South countries, despite facing severe climate impacts, have made pledges close to, or exceeding their fair share of climate action. What is stark in this analysis is the role of elites in perpetuating this disastrous and wilful inaction. We must tackle inequality and elite emissions by confronting power, privilege, and historical injustice and fighting for system change.

The new report shows how fossil fuels drive inequality in every sense - within nations, enriching elites at the expense of the people, and between nations, trapping vulnerable countries in poverty and debt. It reveals decades of sabotage: wealthy countries expanding fossil fuel exploitation while depriving the Global South of financing. We must end this injustice by tackling its source: delivering fair-share funding, equitably phasing out fossil fuels, and prioritizing people over profits. This crisis has never been about a lack of solutions, but about making the right political choices. Countries like Colombia and the Small Island States are leading the charge to build a fossil-free future through a Fossil Fuel Treaty. They are proving that true climate leadership comes from those most impacted, not from polluters blocking progress. The path forward is clear, the question is whether governments will finally follow the courage of those already leading the way.

After 10 years of the Paris Agreement, it is absolutely unacceptable that rich developed countries are failing to contribute their fair share of climate action. These countries - especially the United States - have not cut emissions sufficiently in the past decade. Worse, they also are not making meaningful commitments to accelerate action in the future, even as global temperature goals are breached and the science is extremely clear that much more urgency is needed from the world's historical polluters. On top of that, rich countries are also failing utterly to provide climate finance - support for poorer and more vulnerable countries to implement their own climate goals. Climate finance is a cornerstone of the Paris Agreement; without it, the entire structure of international climate cooperation falls apart. Rich countries must do their part - there is no time left to wait.

At a time when the need for scaled up climate action and support is blindingly obvious, and global conflicts and authoritarianism threaten to displace cooperation and multilateral institutions, a principled equitable approach to global climate action is more important than ever. This report cuts through the excuses and provides a clear vision for who should do what when as part of a fair and equitable effort-sharing to meet our shared climate objectives.

This year’s report is a wake-up call for the climate community and beyond. The energy transition we urgently need — one that phases out fossil fuels and centres fairness — will not happen without a radical shift in the global economy and a deep reform of the international financial system. Without structural change, climate action will continue to fall short. The climate crisis is a justice crisis. Developed countries must take responsibility not only for their failure to deliver meaningful climate action, but also for perpetuating a global economic system that entrenches inequality and neo-colonial control. To unlock real progress, we need to democratise economic decision-making and redirect financial flows toward the global South. It’s time for wealthy nations to act in the interests of the global majority.