As COP31 brings governments together in Antalya to discuss the next steps in climate action, a new UN Climate Change report examines the progress being made beyond national commitments. The 2026 Yearbook of Global Climate Action looks at how cities, businesses and civil society are contributing to climate efforts, highlighting both the results achieved and the challenges that remain.

COP31 opened in Antalya, Türkiye, on 9 November 2026, with negotiations scheduled to continue until 20 November. On the opening day, UN Climate Change released the 2026 Yearbook of Global Climate Action, a publication focused on how climate commitments are being implemented by cities, regions, businesses and civil-society organisations alongside national governments. 

The Yearbook follows the structure of the COP31 Action Agenda, which is organised around six thematic axes: energy, industry and transport; forests, oceans and biodiversity; agriculture and food systems; cities, infrastructure and water; human and social development; and the finance, technology and capacity needed to support action. It is published in a new online format and UN Climate Change says it will be updated to reflect relevant Global Climate Action outcomes from COP31. 

Its overall picture is mixed: the Yearbook tracks 96 global socio-economic indicatorsaligned with the first Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement. Forty-four show progress, 19 show no progress, and 33 have insufficient data to assess a trend. The report presents this lack of comparable evidence as a significant limitation, particularly where climate action needs to be tracked across different countries and sectors. 

Several indicators point to measurable gains: 

• Renewable energy: Capacity increased by 17% from 2024 to 2025. 

• Electric vehicles: Accounted for 25% of light-duty vehicle sales in 2025. 

• Fossil-fuel subsidies: Fell from USD 1.4 trillion in 2022 to USD 725 billion in 2024. 

• Deforestation: Declined by nearly 14% in 2025. 

• Marine protected areas: Covered 10% of the ocean, compared with 4.1% in 2015. 

However, the Yearbook also highlights areas where progress remains insufficient: 

• Energy efficiency: Improved by around 1% in 2024, well below the 4% annual improvement needed by 2030. 

• Methane emissions: Oil and gas emissions rose from 71.5 million tonnes in 2024 to approximately 72.3 million tonnes in 2025. 

• Food loss: Remained at 13% of production between 2021 and 2023. 

• Adaptation finance: Declined from USD 81.5 billion in 2022 to USD 64.1 billion in 2024. 

Adaptation is another area where progress remains difficult to measure. The number of national climate commitments (NDCs) that give significant attention to cities and regions doubled from 52 in 2024 to 104 in 2026. However, 16 of the 19 indicators covering cities, infrastructure and water lack sufficient data to assess progress. 

Climate action beyond governments 

The Yearbook also highlights the role of businesses, cities and organisations in addressing climate change. Through the UNFCCC's Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action (NAZCA), 83 cooperative climate initiatives submitted reports in 2026, documenting more than 200 actions. These results are based on information provided by the initiatives themselves. 

The report also tracks Plans to Accelerate Solutions, which bring together governments, businesses and other organisations to address specific climate challenges through coordinated action and funding. After one year of implementation, 84% of these plans reported progress, although this does not necessarily mean that all their objectives have been achieved. 

Ten years of the Marrakech Partnership 

The 2026 Yearbook also celebrates ten years of the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, established in 2016 to encourage cooperation between governments, businesses, cities and civil society. Building on the Paris Agreement, the Partnership aims to turn international climate commitments into concrete action by bringing together different organisations and supporting joint initiatives. This work is coordinated by two Climate High-Level Champions, whose mandate has been extended until 2030. A new five-year vision, introduced at COP30, will guide their efforts to strengthen collaboration and accelerate climate action over the coming years. 

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell stressed that businesses, cities and communities are already turning climate commitments into visible results. He also called for COP31 to expand these efforts, increase financial support and ensure that more people benefit from climate action. 

Source: UN Climate Change, Unfccc.int