Issue Global governance of the climate crisis under strain

Summary

Climate governance refers to the international system through which national governments, international organisations, financial institutions, companies, civil society and local governments cooperate on climate change through institutions, finance, technology and norms. Since the Paris Agreement was adopted at COP21 in 2015, national contributions and private net-zero pledges have spread and finance, technology and markets have grown around the COP process and UN bodies. From around 2024 and 2025, however, policy retreat by some major countries and geopolitical tension have begun to erode the continuity of cooperation, raising uncertainty about implementing global agreements. A loss and damage fund has been launched, yet imbalances in technology and finance between developed and developing countries persist, and energy-cost shocks have delayed transition policies and slowed global emission cuts. As heatwaves, infectious disease, food crises and air pollution intensify, climate governance is expanding from an environment and energy agenda into a multi-layered system that also covers health security and disaster response.