Twelve recent reports cover the most pressing aspects of global climate change as negotiators meet in Antalya, Türkiye, for COP31. The reports include updates on the gap between the cuts nations promised to make and their actual climate emissions, the health and economic benefits of reducing pollution, a new analysis of options for ending fossil fuel production, and much more.
Covers, links, and blurbs for all of these reports can be found below along with those for new reports that address the world energy outlook, climate technologies, oceans, biodiversity, planetary boundaries, health, and climate mis- and disinformation.
The list ends with a guidebook for COP31 produced by the Women’s Environment and Development Organization.
As always, the descriptions of the titles are adapted from copy provided by the organizations that published them.
Limiting Overshoot: Navigating Exceedance of 1.5°C and Pathways Towards Return by UNEP Team (United Nations Environment Programme 2026, 139 pages, free download)
A new spotlight report by the UN Environment Programme finds that as global temperature rise gets set to cross 1.5°C, pushing climate risks and impacts to dangerous new heights, the world must strive to return to below 1.5°C as soon as possible and simultaneously reduce the vulnerability of societies, communities, and economies to climate impacts. The report, “Limiting Overshoot: Navigating exceedance of 1.5°C and pathways towards return,” finds that the world can achieve this goal by acting now to get on an “overshoot, peak, and decline” pathway.
Hidden Assets: The Economic and Health Case for Climate and Clean Air Action by S. Dietz et al. (United Nations Environment Programme 2026, 189 pages, free download)
Climate change and air pollution share many of the same sources, yet are almost always assessed separately. This assessment corrects that. It evaluates 25 proven solutions across energy, industry, transport, agriculture, cooking, and waste, and finds that integrated action delivers more than acting on either alone. Every dollar invested returns around $15, an internal rate of return of 60%, with market returns exceeding costs within 10 years. By 2050, the solutions could avoid 144 million premature deaths and hundreds of millions of cases of chronic disease. The chief obstacles are often neither technical nor economic but institutional. Investment in enabling conditions can bring full implementation forward by up to a decade, worth up to US$10 trillion in savings by 2040. Every region benefits. Benefit-cost ratios range from three in high-income regions to 26 in Southern Africa. Every year of delay forgoes more than US$1.5 trillion.
World Energy Transition Outlook 2026: 1.5⁰ C Pathway by U. Collier & R. Gorini, eds. (International Renewable Energy Agency 2026, 166 pages, free download)
The global energy transition has entered a decisive new phase. Renewable energy deployment continues to break records, technology costs have fallen significantly, and electrification is advancing across transport, buildings and industry. However, this progress remains too slow and uneven. The outlook shows that there is a common goal, but no universal pathway for all countries and regions. The quality of the transition matters as much as its pace: a 1.5°C-compatible pathway could raise average global GDP by around 1.1% relative to current plans, but affordability, social protection, skills and equitable access to new economic opportunities must be built into implementation from the outset. Integrated national and regional planning will be essential to translate global ambition into pathways tailored to country and regional circumstances.
Emissions Gap Report 2026: The Point of Return – Urgent Emissions Cuts Needed to Come Back from Overshoot of 1.5°C by A. Olhoff et al. (United Nations Environment Programme 2026, 112 pages, free download)
The 2026 Emissions Gap Report lays out the cuts to emissions needed (by 2030, 2035 and 2040) to get on a return pathway — finding that the cuts needed are far above what current nationally determined contributions deliver. However, the report finds that it is possible to close this emissions gap — pointing to many successful climate policies that have already delivered real-world emissions cuts and could be scaled up globally to accelerate action.
See also The Paris Agreement Article 6 Implementation Status Report, 2026 Edition by K. Crabb et al. (Institute for Global Environmental Strategies 2026, 103 pages, free download)
Adaptation Gap Report 2026: Ready? Not. Climate Impacts Will Not Wait. Climate Finance Must Rise by H. Neufeldt et al. (United Nations Environment Programme 2026, pages, free download)
UNEP’s “2026 Adaptation Gap Report: Ready? Not” finds that adaptation finance continues to fall short of needs, implementation remains constrained by institutional barriers, and losses and damages are mounting as climate impacts intensify. The report finds that international public adaptation finance flows from developed to developing countries reached US$28.2-31.7 billion in 2024, a US$1 billion increase over the previous year. Flows to least developed countries and small island developing states rose in real terms between 2019 and 2024 but declined from a 2022 peak. Even if the COP30 aspiration to triple international public finance flows to developing countries by 2035 is achieved, this would only cover 20-29% of what is needed. More positively, tripling flows to least developed countries and small island developing states could meet 49-84 % of their needs.
End of the Pipeline: Managed vs Market-Driven Routes to Ending Fossil Fuel Production by N. Grant et al. (Climate Analytics 2026, 78 pages, free download)
As global warming approaches 1.5°C and a period of overshoot looms, the world is marching further into a crisis of our own making. The question facing the global community is not whether we transition away from fossil fuels, but how to transition quickly enough to keep peak warming as small as possible. In this report, we assess two contrasting approaches to the global transition in fossil fuel production: a market-driven world and a coordinated world. In a market-driven transition, cuts in production are determined by competition in which the cheapest producers win out. In a coordinated transition, those most ready for the transition move first, while those less ready follow soon after. We then explore the implications of these two different transitions for various producers, for the market as a whole, and for fossil fuel prices.
The Climate Technology Progress Report 2026: Navigating Ocean-Based Technologies by Copenhagen Climate Centre (United Nations Environment Programme 2026, 120 pages, free download)
The world must strengthen its understanding of the ocean’s carbon system if it is to safeguard one of the planet’s most important climate allies. The 2026 Climate Technology Progress Report highlights Ocean Carbon Intelligence, a framework that connects ocean science, monitoring technologies, data infrastructure and analytical tools to improve understanding of ocean carbon dynamics and support evidence-based climate action. As governments and markets look to ocean-based climate solutions to help address climate change, the report identifies sustained investment in ocean observation, data infrastructure, and modeling as essential for closing knowledge gaps, strengthening climate decision-making, and, highlighting both opportunities & limitations, supporting the development of ocean-based climate technologies.
See also The Ocean Protection Gap Report 2026: Assessing Progress Toward the 30 x 30 Target by N. Chia et al. (Together for the Ocean 2026, 34 pages, free download).
Restoration Progress Report: Nature’s Comeback: Scaling Ecosystem Restoration for People and Planet by FAO & Secretariat of the Convention on Biodiversity (United Nations Environment Programme 2026, 116 pages, free download)
At the midpoint of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, this report provides the first comprehensive global assessment of progress towards restoring degraded ecosystems and achieving international restoration targets and commitments. It evaluates the extent to which restoration efforts are contributing to the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The report examines the scale and drivers of ecosystem degradation and the financing supporting implementation. Structured around two central questions, the report asks: How much progress has been made towards restoring degraded ecosystems, and what actions are needed to accelerate restoration at scale? It concludes by identifying practical solutions and strategic pathways to close gaps and to turn restoration commitments into measurable results.
State of Biodiversity Action: The Global Report on Collective Progress in the Implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by Secretariat of the Convention on Biodiversity (United Nations Environment Programme 2026, 412 pages, free download)
“State of Biodiversity Action” provides the first comprehensive global stocktake of progress towards the 2030 targets and 2050 goal. Drawing on national reports, updated biodiversity strategies, scientific assessments and diverse sources of knowledge, it assesses progress across all 23 targets, identifying achievements, implementation gaps and barriers. The report brings together evidence from countries & stakeholders worldwide to examine where progress is advancing and where efforts must accelerate. It highlights the need for stronger implementation, coordinated action and increased ambition to translate global commitments into tangible outcomes for nature. As a key input to the Global Review at COP 17, the report provides an evidence base to guide decision-making and help Parties and stakeholders accelerate action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.
See also The Veolia Institute Review Facts Reports 2026: Biodiversity & Health by C. Baecher et al. (Veolia Institute 2026, 106 pages, free download).
Planetary Health Check 2026: A Scientific Assessment of the State of Our Planet by Planetary Boundaries Science Lab (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research 2026, 124 pages, free download)
Human activities have pushed Earth beyond its safe operating space. The planet’s natural resilience is weakening: Global warming is accelerating, ecosystems are showing clear signs of degradation, and early warning signs of tipping points are emerging in key systems. To safeguard the Earth’s resilience and stability, we must bring the planet back into its planetary boundaries, the scientifically defined guardrails that ensure the Earth’s health. Today, seven out of nine boundaries have been transgressed. The “Planetary Health Check” is a yearly report on the state of our planet. It presents the most up-to-date assessments of the planetary boundaries, gives thorough introductions into cutting-edge science, and spotlights especially relevant aspects of our planet’s health. In this 2026 edition, we place a special focus on carbon sinks and novel entities.
Protecting Health in the Age of Climate Disinformation: Safeguarding Information Integrity in the Context of Climate Change and Health by WHO-Civil Society Working Group (Global Climate & Health Alliance 2026, 67 pages, free download)
This report is the first instance of the health community addressing how climate disinformation directly and indirectly harms human health around the world, from undermining emergency warnings and public-health guidance to delaying policies on air pollution, clean energy and fossil fuels. The report argues that the climate crisis now demands the same level of institutional seriousness that public health has brought to other major information threats. It calls for information integrity to be embedded across climate and health policy, rather than treated as the responsibility of communications teams alone. And it urges stronger climate and health education that links fossil fuel combustion, disease, and climate change, so that health professionals are equipped to communicate not only the health consequences of the climate crisis, but also its drivers.
Feminist Climate Justice: Advocacy & Action: WEDO’s COP31 Overview by WEDO’s COP31 Team (Women’s Environment and Development Organization 2026, 17 pages, free download)
As governments gather in Antalya, Türkiye, for COP31, WEDO is bringing a clear message: Implementation is a political choice. At a time of accelerating climate impacts, growing inequality, and mounting pressure on international cooperation, delivering climate justice requires more than technical solutions and new commitments. It requires political accountability, meaningful investment in people and communities, and transformation of the systems driving the climate crisis. Throughout COP31, WEDO will support feminist advocacy and strengthen women’s leadership through the Women and Gender Constituency and the Women Delegates Fund. It will also convene partners around the implementation of the Belém Gender Action Plan, bringing insights from our Global Feminist Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction into the negotiations.
This article first appeared on Yale Climate Connections and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. ![""]("https://i0.wp.com/yaleclimateconnections.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/ycc-favicon.png?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1")
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