Special report from 2025, prepared by William J. Ripple, Christopher Wolf and colleagues, entitled The 2025 state of the climate report: a planet on the brink, warns that the planet is heading towards climate chaos. The consequences Human-caused climate change is no longer a future threat but a current emergency. The authors emphasize the ethical responsibility of scientists to sound the alarm about escalating global risks.

Climate vital signs in the red

It is alarming that the year 2024 set a new record for global average surface temperature, signaling an escalation of climate shocks. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), 2024 was the hottest year on record. Currently, 22 of 34 monitored planetary vital signs at record high levelsWarming is accelerating, driven by strong cloud feedbacks and declining aerosol emissions that previously masked warming.

In 2025, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide were at record highs. In May 2025, the average concentration of carbon dioxide exceeded 430 parts per million (ppm), a level likely not seen for millions of years. The accelerated growth in CO2 concentrations was also contributed to by sudden drop in land carbon absorption in 2023, likely caused by the El Niño phenomenon and intense forest fires. The Earth's energy imbalance, an important predictor of future warming, is rising much faster than climate models predicted, linked to a decline in the planet's albedo (its reflectivity).

Ecological overshoot and consumption

Human activity is driving the planet into a state of ecological overshoot (ecological overshoot), where resources are being used up faster than they can be replenished. Global human population, ruminant livestock (which contributes about half of agricultural methane emissions), and gross domestic product are at record highs. Approximately 1.3 million people and 0.5 million ruminants are added each week.

In 2024, it reached total consumption of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) at an all-time highAlthough solar and wind energy consumption also saw a record increase of 16.4%, total fossil fuel consumption was still around 31 times higher as the combined consumption of solar and wind energy.

Tipping points and devastating disasters

As a result of intense warming, almost every corner of the biosphere is experiencing increasing heat waves, storms, floods, droughts or fires. Global forest cover losses associated with fires have reached a record high, especially in tropical rainforest, where fire losses increased by 370% compared to 2023.

Ocean temperatures have reached record levels, likely contributing to the largest coral bleaching event in recorded history, affecting 84% of coral reefs. In 2025, Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet levels are at record lows. These ice sheets may have already crossed critical tipping points, which could lead to a meter of sea level rise.

Between 2000 and 2024, global costs related to climate disasters reached a massive $18.5 trillion. For example, floods in Texas (July 2025) killed at least 135 people, and wildfires in California caused damage exceeding $250 billion. These rapidly worsening risks increase the likelihood that the planet will enter a “greenhouse Earth” trajectory (hothouse Earth).

The Way Forward: Strategies and Social Change

Bold and rapid transformative change is needed to secure a livable future. Mitigation strategies that are cost-effective and urgently needed include a shift to renewable energy sources and support plant-based dietAlthough solar and wind energy have huge potential (they could supply almost 70% of global electricity by 2050), they still lag behind fossil fuels.

A key strategy is also protection and restoration of ecosystems, especially intact primary forests, which help store vast amounts of carbon. Climate mitigation can also support reductions in food loss and waste (which are responsible for 8–10% of emissions globally).

Despite political obstacles, they offer a way forward social tipping points (social tipping points). Even small, sustained, nonviolent movements can trigger rapid changes in social norms and politics. Bridging this gap requires systemic change that combines technical solutions with broader societal transformation, governance, and policies to address ecological overruns and crises of justice. JRi

A message published in the magazine BioScience