An alternative emissions-calculating methodology underpins revised, less ambitious methane-reduction targets.

By Georgina Gustin

A group of the world’s leading climate scientists are warning governments and the livestock industry against adopting an “accounting trick” that will imperil the all-out global effort required to control heat-trapping emissions.

Top Climate Scientists Accuse the Livestock Industry of Pushing Fuzzy Math to Downplay its Climate Warming Emissions

New York, United States, 21 May 2026 — The United Nations General Assembly voted with overwhelming support to adopt a landmark resolution led by Vanuatu and 12 other countries which will advance implementation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion on climate change and state responsibility, today.

The resolution passed with 141 votes in favour, 8 against and 28 abstentions. Australia voted in favour of the resolution, welcoming the landmark ICJ advisory opinion and its constructive role in advancing global climate action, although stopped short of co-sponsoring the resolution.

The outcome formally reaffirms the Court’s findings and calls on governments to align their policies with their legal obligations to limit global warming to 1.5°C – including by delivering deep, rapid and sustained emissions cuts, regulating fossil fuel companies, and protecting the right to a healthy environment. The resolution also requests the UN Secretary-General submit a report in 2027 on how to advance compliance with all obligations in relation to the Court’s findings – ensuring that pressure and scrutiny on governments will be sustained to deliver their legal obligations.[1]

Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific, Greenpeace Australia Pacific said: “The world has followed the Pacific’s lead. Vanuatu and Pacific nations have once again shaped the global climate agenda, turning the voices of frontline communities into international action.

“While it is positive that Australia voted in favour of the resolution, Australia should have gone much further to stand with its Pacific family by co-sponsoring the resolution. This would have been a more genuine show of support for Pacific leadership as Australia prepares to preside over COP31 negotiations, where it has promised to centre Pacific needs and priorities.

“Governments can no longer ignore their legal responsibilities while backing the expansion of the fossil fuel industry. Pacific communities have fought for this moment because we are already living with the consequences of the climate crisis, and we will continue fighting until there is a fast, fair and funded phase-out of fossil fuels. This outcome is for the realisation of human rights of current and future generations to experience a life of dignity and to stand proudly on the righteous legacies of the past.”

In July 2025, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion outlining that states have legal obligations under international law to take urgent, equitable action to protect the climate system, including through emissions reduction, international cooperation, holding corporate polluters to account, and preventing climate harm.[2]

The UNGA resolution is expected to strengthen the political and legal weight of the Advisory Opinion across international negotiations, national policymaking, and climate litigation, while increasing pressure on governments to align their actions with their obligation to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

-ENDS-

Notes

[1] Greenpeace Media statement: World’s highest court delivers historic protections for climate-impacted communities

[2] A Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels: Greenpeace Policy Briefing

Media contact

Kate O’Callaghan on 0406 231 892 or kate.ocallaghan@greenpeace.org

UNGA heeds Pacific voices, backs world court on states’ climate obligations

The Turkish government and the International Renewable Energy Agency have called for a stronger global push to run vehicles, industry and buildings on electricity rather than fossil fuels, ahead of this year’s COP31 climate talks.

COP31 President Murat Kurum told the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial on Wednesday that governments should be “decarbonising the way we generate electricity, but also expanding electrification into every sphere of life”.

“We must make the technologies of the future accessible at scale – and we must ensure that no one is left behind,” he told the gathering of climate diplomats and ministers from around 40 countries in the Danish capital.

Kurum said that the percentage of final energy consumption which is met by electricity – the key metric of electrification, which is currently around 20% globally – should be increased “as much as we possibly can”.

The head of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Francesco La Camera, also addressed the Copenhagen gathering. While his comments to ministers were not public, IRENA released a statement ahead of the talks calling for a goal to increase electricity’s share of final energy consumption to 35% by 2035.

The two officials did not reference the war with Iran and the price hikes in oil and gas as a result of related supply disruptions, but UN and other leaders have used this as an argument in favour of transitioning away from planet-heating fossil fuels towards clean, domestically produced renewables.

35 by 35 goal

“The world must adapt to a new energy reality,” La Camera said in the IRENA statement. “Beyond the goals of tripling renewables and doubling energy efficiency [by 2030] lies the wider challenge of transforming entire energy systems and reducing fossil fuel use across supply and demand. Electrification and fossil fuel phase-out are inseparable and must advance together.”

He said electrification, which can be achieved through technologies like electric heat pumps, vehicles and cookers, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance energy security and bolster economic competitiveness.

A new “transitioning away from fossil fuels” roadmap released by IRENA says this 35% by 2035 electrification goal is vital if the world is to “remain” on a pathway to limit global warming to 1.5C. Electrification should reach at least 50% by 2050, it adds.

To enable this goal to be met, the amount of money invested in power grids each year should double from $0.5 trillion in 2025 to around $1 trillion each year until 2035. Significant investment in electricity storage and demand flexibility is also needed, the roadmap says.

Clémence Dubois, campaigns manager for green group 350.org, welcomed Kurum’s remarks but added that electrification and energy justice should be funded through large developed countries taxing the windfall profits of fossil fuel companies.

Collective goal or coalition?

It is not yet clear whether the Turkish government, or the Australian government which is tasked with leading the COP31 negotiations, will attempt to get all countries to agree to an electrification goal at November’s climate summit in Antalya.

If so, such a goal could be collectively endorsed by all nations in a COP decision, as with the COP28 targets to triple renewables capacity and double the rate of growth in energy efficiency, both by 2030. Where there is narrower support, other goals have been voluntarily launched at COPs, backed by coalitions of countries, including pledges to boost nuclear energy, biofuels and grid investment.

A source with knowledge of Türkiye’s priorities confirmed that electrification is important to the COP31 host, alongside energy storage, energy security, clean cooking and resilient and clean energy systems.

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Electrification emerges as Turkish COP31 priority