The latest round of international climate goals for 2035 does not show a faster pace of cuts to energy-sector emissions compared to previous promises, according to the authors of the newly released report. Instead, recent policy changes and updated national targets suggest that the momentum for rapid decarbonization has slowed significantly.
“The latest climate pledges, in aggregate, do not imply an acceleration in mitigation in the energy sector by 2035 compared with previous commitments.” “Overall, policy shifts in 2025 have tempered the pace of future emissions reductions, even though climate objectives remain a stated priority in many countries.”
Essentially, most countries have submitted their updated plans for how they will cut pollution, but these new promises are not as ambitious as the ones they made in previous years. This indicates that instead of speeding up the transition to cleaner energy, global efforts are actually losing speed, which makes it much harder to meet international goals for a safer climate.
The report “State of Energy Policy 2026” was published by the International Energy Agency in France in April 2026. It was prepared by the World Energy Outlook team under the direction of Laura Cozzi, the IEA’s Chief Energy Modeller.
