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Manuel Pulgar-Vidal is WWF’s Global Climate and Energy Lead and a former Peruvian environment minister and President of COP20 in Lima in 2014

In 2015, the world celebrated the Paris Agreement as a landmark in the global fight against climate change. The principle of “leave no one behind,” carried over from the Sustainable Development Goals, was recognised as a core ethical foundation of the agreement. It represented values of equity, inclusiveness, and justice—ideas essential to tackling both the causes and consequences of climate change. 

Yet, in the years that followed, these values drifted into the background. Ethical discussions became marginal, often confined to faith-based initiatives such as Pope Francis’ Laudato Si and Laudate Deum.

Now, in 2025, there are signs of change. On the road to COP30, Brazil has introduced the Global Ethical Stocktake, putting ethics squarely back at the centre of the climate negotiations. It acknowledges what has long been missing from the process and challenges us to rebuild climate action on the foundations of justice, responsibility, and solidarity.

WWF’s visualisation of ethics at the heart of global climate action

Building the Climate Narrative on Ethical Values

The climate crisis is not just a scientific or political problem—it is also a deeply moral one. Rising emissions and warming temperatures are tied to inequitable development, unchecked consumption, and a reliance on fossil fuels, even when their dangers are well known. 

Embedding ethics into climate talks means recognizing the values that should guide us: respect, responsibility, justice, integrity, solidarity, freedom, tolerance, empathy, and equity. These are not abstract ideals. They are the compass we need to navigate the crisis and ensure the planet remains liveable for current and future generations. 

If we ignore this ethical dimension, the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN climate process risk becoming hollow commitments—fine words without meaningful action. 

The Role of Courts in Advancing an Ethical Climate Narrative

In recent months, two international courts have issued landmark opinions that reshape the conversation about responsibility and justice in the climate crisis.

-The Inter-American Court of Human Rights recognized that the right to a healthy environment is inseparable from the right to a healthy climate. It laid out three obligations for states: to respect rights, to guarantee rights with reinforced due diligence, and to embed these responsibilities in domestic law. 

-The International Court of Justice reaffirmed that climate treaties are built on the principles of equity and intergenerational justice.

These decisions bring ethics and law closer together. They highlight that access to food, water, housing, and a safe climate are fundamental human rights—and that governments cannot ignore their obligations without consequence. 

Restoring Credibility Through Ethics 

One of the biggest criticisms of global climate negotiations is the gap between promises and delivery. Emissions are not falling fast enough. Adaptation is underfunded. Finance for vulnerable countries lags commitments. The result is widespread frustration and a loss of credibility in the process. 

Restoring credibility is not just a technical matter—it is a moral imperative. Countries must not only increase the ambition of their NDCs but also fully implement them. Accountability rules are essential to identify those who delay or fail to act.

The same applies to the private sector. Many corporations make bold claims about being “carbon neutral” or “net zero,” yet their pathways often lack scientific rigor and independent monitoring. When such claims amount to greenwashing, they erode trust. 

Ethics provides the framework to rebuild credibility—by linking obligations with accountability and connecting responsibilities directly to citizens and consumers. 

Ethics as a Guide for Negotiators 

As we approach COP30—more than three decades after the creation of the UNFCCC—negotiators continue to face slow and politicized processes. Too often, meetings are delayed by disputes over agendas, while the climate emergency worsens in real time. 

Negotiators may represent their states, but they must also reckon with the moral consequences of inaction. Every year of delay brings more lives lost, more ecosystems destroyed, and more communities displaced. 

The Global Ethical Stocktake should serve as a constant reminder of these consequences, awakening the moral conscience that must guide climate diplomacy.

Just as the Global Stocktake in 2023 (COP28) assessed progress and recommended next steps, the ethical debate must reach the heart of negotiations to unlock what political posturing has left unresolved.

Centring Adaptation, Resilience, and Loss and Damage 

Since the early 1990s, countries have committed to both decarbonization and building resilience. Yet adaptation lags far behind. Communities most exposed to climate impacts—particularly in the Global South—still lack the resources to protect themselves. 

This failure is not only practical but ethical. Without adaptation, vulnerable populations lose the material conditions for survival: food, water, housing, and livelihoods. 

The ethical debate must focus strongly on adaptation, loss and damage, and just transition policies. It must highlight the values of solidarity, justice, empathy, and equity in building resilience. 

Respecting Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities 

Any ethical climate debate must put inclusion at its core. Indigenous peoples and local communities, who have often borne the brunt of exclusion and rights violations, must be central actors in climate solutions. 

Their traditional knowledge is not a relic of the past but a living resource. It complements scientific expertise and offers proven pathways for adaptation and ecosystem stewardship. Recognizing and respecting these contributions is both an ethical obligation and a practical necessity. 

Making the Global Ethical Debate Permanent 

If the Global Ethical Stocktake remains a one-off event, its potential will be wasted. It must become a permanent feature of the climate process. 

Brazil should present the results of the Global Ethical Debate at COP30 and propose that future ethical stocktakes align with the Global Stocktake cycle. Champions could be appointed to ensure follow-up, and mechanisms should be created to embed ethics into national planning processes, from NDCs to adaptation plans. 

Such steps would make ethics not just a side conversation but a structural element of climate governance. 

A Call to Conscience 

The climate crisis is a test not only of our science and technology but of our values and humanity. Denialism, polarization, and geopolitical rivalries continue to stall progress. Re-centring ethics offers a bridge between governments and citizens, between technical negotiations and lived realities.

As we look toward COP30 and beyond, the message is clear: ethics is not an optional extra. It is the foundation on which meaningful climate action must be built. If we embrace this truth, guided by both intergenerational and intergenerational responsibility, we can turn commitments into action and leave behind a liveable planet for all.

The post Why ethics must be at the heart of global climate action  appeared first on Climate Home News.

Why ethics must be at the heart of global climate action 

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A New Tool Could Help Track Deep-Sea Mining Activity

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December 5, 2025

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Countries are still debating whether to mine the seafloor for minerals, but exploratory efforts have already begun.

By Kiley Price

As demand for critical minerals surges around the world, countries are debating whether to mine the untapped deep-sea reserves of cobalt, copper and manganese, miles below the surface. But a growing body of research shows that these activities could have profound consequences for ocean ecosystems, and the industries and communities that rely on them.

A New Tool Could Help Track Deep-Sea Mining Activity

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IEA: Slow transition away from fossil fuels would cost over a million energy sector jobs

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December 5, 2025

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A slower shift to clean energy could leave the world with 1.3 million fewer energy sector jobs by 2035 compared with a scenario in which governments fully implement their green policies, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has found.

In its annual World Energy Employment report, the Paris-based watchdog said on Friday that the Current Policies Scenario (CPS), which it reintroduced under pressure from the Trump administration, has “more muted” employment growth than the Stated Policies Scenario.

The CPS sees oil and gas demand continuing to rise until at least 2050 – a scenario that the IEA described as “cautious” and “anchored in enacted laws and measures” and was widely criticised by clean energy experts.

A fast energy transition would spur investment in construction, creating more jobs across the sector. New roles for electricians, building insulators, solar panel and energy-efficient lightbulb installers, and transition mineral miners would more than offset job losses in coal mines, power plants and oil and gas fields, the report found.

    Anabella Rosemberg, Just Transition lead at Climate Action Network International, lamented that the clean energy sector is “being undermined at a time when employment creation is of utmost priority”.

    “Climate ambition and decent job creation must go hand in hand – but as the recent conversations at COP30 showed, there is a need for both the right targets and just transition strategies to make it happen,” she added.

    A more ambitious Net Zero Emissions scenario, aligned with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C, would see roughly ten million more energy jobs created than under the CPS, report author Daniel Wetzel told Climate Home News at a press conference.

    Bottleneck warnings

    The IEA warned that governments must act to train workers for these roles or risk facing shortages of electricians, welders, and grid specialists – a gap that could slow the energy transition and drive up wages and energy costs.

    IEA head Fatih Birol highlighted a particular shortage of qualified workers in the nuclear industry, warning that the problem could worsen as the sector’s workforce continues to age. “I hear nuclear is making a comeback, but the interest in the nuclear sector for the jobs is rather weak,” he said.

    Laura Cozzi, IEA’s Director of Sustainability, Technology and Outlooks, warned of a shortage of skilled workers in electricity grids. “That is one of the key ingredients why we are not seeing grids ramp up as [they] should,” she said. Over 60 governments pledged at COP29 to improve and expand their grids to enable clean electricity to flow to where it is needed.

      Bert De Wel, Global Coordinator for Climate Policy at the International Trade Union Confederation, celebrated that the energy transition is creating jobs but added that they should be good jobs with decent pay, conditions and union rights. Decent work would attract skilled workers, he added.

      The report found that wages in the oil and gas industry have generally risen faster over the past year than in the solar – and especially the wind – sectors. It noted that the oil and gas industry has a “historical tendency to offer highly competitive wages to attract and retain top talent”.

      At the COP30 climate summit, governments agreed to set up the Belém Action Mechanism to try and make the energy transition fairer to groups such as workers in the energy industry. It will give trade unions a formal role in shaping just transition policies, for what the ITUC says is the first time.

      ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle called it a “decisive win for the union movement and working people across the world, in all sectors but especially those in transition industries.”

      The post IEA: Slow transition away from fossil fuels would cost over a million energy sector jobs appeared first on Climate Home News.

      IEA: Slow transition away from fossil fuels would cost over a million energy sector jobs

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      DeBriefed 5 December: Deadly Asia floods; Adaptation finance target examined; Global south IPCC scientists speak out

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      December 5, 2025

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      Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed.
      An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change.

      This week

      Deadly floods in Asia

      MOUNTING DEVASTATION: The Associated Press reported that the death toll from catastrophic floods in south-east Asia had reached 1,500, with Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand most affected and hundreds still missing. The newswire said “thousands” more face “severe” food and clean-water shortages. Heavy rains and thunderstorms are expected this weekend, it added, with “saturated soil and swollen rivers leaving communities on edge”. Earlier in the week, Bloomberg said the floods had caused “at least $20bn in losses”.

      CLIMATE CHANGE LINKS: A number of outlets have investigated the links between the floods and human-caused climate change. Agence France-Presse explained that climate change was “producing more intense rain events because a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture and warmer oceans can turbocharge storms”. Meanwhile, environmental groups told the Associated Press the situation had been exacerbated by “decades of deforestation”, which had “stripped away natural defenses that once absorbed rainfall and stabilised soil”.

      ‘NEW NORMAL’: The Associated Press quoted Malaysian researcher Dr Jemilah Mahmood saying: “South-east Asia should brace for a likely continuation and potential worsening of extreme weather in 2026 and for many years.” Al Jazeera reported that the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies had called for “stronger legal and policy frameworks to protect people in disasters”. The organisation’s Asia-Pacific director said the floods were a “stark reminder that climate-driven disasters are becoming the new normal”, the outlet said.

      Around the world

      • REVOKED: The UK and Netherlands withdrew $2.2bn of financial backing from a controversial liquified natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique, Reuters reported. The Guardian noted that TotalEnergies’ “giant” project stood accused of “fuelling the climate crisis and deadly terror attacks”.
      • REVERSED: US president Donald Trump announced plans to “significantly weaken” Biden-era fuel efficiency requirements for cars, the New York Times said.
      • RESTRICTED: EU leaders agreed to ban the import of Russian gas from autumn 2027, the Financial Times reported. Meanwhile, Reuters said it is “likely” the European Commission will delay announcing a plan on auto sector climate targets next week, following pressure to “weaken” a 2035 cut-off for combustion engines.
      • RETRACTED: An influential Nature study that looked at the economic consequences of climate change has been withdrawn after “criticism from peers”, according to Bloomberg. [The research came second in Carbon Brief’s ranking of the climate papers most covered by the media in 2024.]
      • REBUKED: The federal government of Canada faced a backlash over an oil pipeline deal struck last week with the province of Alberta. CBC News noted that ​​First Nations chiefs voted “unanimously” to demand the withdrawal of the deal and Canada’s National Observer quoted author Naomi Klein as saying that the prime minister was “completely trashing Canada’s climate commitments”.
      • RESCHEDULED: The Indonesian government has cancelled plans to close a coal plant seven years early, Bloomberg reported. Meanwhile, Bloomberg separately reported that India is mulling an “unprecedented increase” in coal-power capacity that could see plants built “until at least 2047”.

      $518 billion a year

      The projected coastal flood damages for the Asia-Pacific region by 2100 if current policies continue, according to a Scientific Reports study covered this week by Carbon Brief.

      Latest climate research

      • More than 100 “climate-sensitive rivers” worldwide are experiencing “large and severe changes in streamflow volume and timing” | Environmental Research Letters
      • Africa’s forests have switched from a carbon sink into a source | Scientific Reports
      • Increasing urbanisation can “substantially intensify warming”, contributing up to 0.44C of additional temperature rise per year through 2060 | Communications Earth & Environment

      (For more, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth daily summaries of the top climate news stories on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.)

      Captured

      A new target for developed nations to triple adaptation finance by 2035, agreed at the COP30 climate summit, would not cover more than a third of developing countries’ estimated needs, Carbon Brief analysis showed. The chart above compares a straight line to meeting the adaptation finance target (blue), alongside an estimate of countries’ adaptation needs (grey), which was calculated using figures from the latest UN Environmental Programme adaptation gap report, based on countries’ UN climate plans (called “nationally determined contributions” or NDCs) and national adaptation plans (NAPs).

      Spotlight

      Inclusivity at the IPCC

      This week, Carbon Brief speaks to an IPCC lead author researching ways to improve the experience of global south scientists taking part in producing the UN climate body’s assessments.

      Hundreds of climate scientists from around the world met in Paris this week to start work on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) newest set of climate reports.

      The IPCC is the UN body responsible for producing the world’s most authoritative climate science reports. Hundreds of scientists from across the globe contribute to each “assessment cycle”, which sees researchers aim to condense all published climate science over several years into three “working group” reports.

      The reports inform the decisions of governments – including at UN climate talks – as well as the public understanding of climate change.

      The experts gathering in Paris are the most diverse group ever convened by the IPCC.

      Earlier this year, Carbon Brief analysis found that – for the first time in an IPCC cycle – citizens of the global south make up 50% of authors of the three working group reports. The IPCC has celebrated this milestone, with IPCC chair Prof Jim Skea touting the seventh assessment report’s (AR7’s) “increased diversity” in August.

      But some IPCC scientists have cautioned that the growing involvement of global south scientists does not translate into an inclusive process.

      “What happens behind closed doors in these meeting rooms doesn’t necessarily mirror what the diversity numbers say,” Dr Shobha Maharaj, a Trinidadian climate scientist who is a coordinating lead author for working group two (WG2) of AR7, told Carbon Brief.

      Global south perspective

      Motivated by conversations with colleagues and her own “uncomfortable” experience working on the small-islands chapter of the sixth assessment cycle (AR6) WG2 report, Maharaj – an adjunct professor at the University of Fiji – reached out to dozens of fellow contributors to understand their experience.

      The exercise, she said, revealed a “dominance of thinking and opinions from global north scientists, whereas the global south scientists – the scientists who were people of colour – were generally suppressed”.

      The perspectives of scientists who took part in the survey and future recommendations for the IPCC are set out in a peer-reviewed essay – co-authored by 20 researchers – slated for publication in the journal PLOS Climate. (Maharaj also presented the findings to the IPCC in September.)

      The draft version of the essay notes that global south scientists working on WG2 in AR6 said they confronted a number of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) issues, including “skewed” author selection, “unequal” power dynamics and a “lack of respect and trust”. The researchers also pointed to logistical constraints faced by global south authors, such as visa issues and limited access to journals.

      The anonymous quotations from more than 30 scientists included in the essay, Maharaj said, are “clear data points” that she believes can advance a discussion about how to make academia more inclusive.

      “The literature is full of the problems that people of colour or global south authors have in academia, but what you don’t find very often is quotations – especially from climate scientists,” she said. “We tend to be quite a conservative bunch.”

      Road to ‘improvement’

      Among the recommendations set out in the essay are for DEI training, the appointment of a “diversity and inclusion ombudsman” and for updated codes of conduct.

      Marharaj said that these “tactical measures” need to occur alongside “transformative approaches” that help “address value systems, dismantle power structures [and] change the rules of participation”.

      With drafting of the AR7 reports now underway, Maharaj said she is “hopeful” the new cycle can be an improvement on the last, pointing to a number of “welcome” steps from the IPCC.

      This includes holding the first-ever expert meeting on DEI this autumn, new mechanisms where authors can flag concerns and the recruitment of a “science and capacity officer” to support WG2 authors.

      The hope, Maharaj explained, is to enhance – not undermine – climate science.

      “The idea here was to move forward and to improve the IPCC, rather than attack it,” she said. “Because we all love the science – and we really value what the IPCC brings to the world.”

      Watch, read, listen

      BROKEN PROMISES: Climate Home News spoke to communities in Nigeria let down by the government’s failure to clean up oil spills by foreign companies.

      ‘WHEN A ROAD GOES WRONG’: Inside Climate News looked at how a new road from Brazil’s western Amazon to Peru has become a “conduit for rampant deforestation and illegal gold mining”.

      SHADOWY COURTS: In the Guardian, George Monbiot lamented the rise of investor-state dispute settlements, which he described as “undemocratic offshore tribunals” that are already having a “chilling effect” on countries’ climate ambitions.

      Coming up

      Pick of the jobs

      DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne. Please send any tips or feedback to debriefed@carbonbrief.org.

      This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s weekly DeBriefed email newsletter. Subscribe for free here.

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      The post DeBriefed 5 December: Deadly Asia floods; Adaptation finance target examined; Global south IPCC scientists speak out appeared first on Carbon Brief.

      DeBriefed 5 December: Deadly Asia floods; Adaptation finance target examined; Global south IPCC scientists speak out

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