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(13 Nov 2025, SCMP) Ten years have passed since the hopeful Paris Agreement was endorsed by almost 200 nations during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop21) in Paris back in 2015. Will the Cop30 currently under way near the Amazon rainforest in Brazil bring us some good news?

This iconic summit is supposed to build consensus among nations for tackling the escalating climate risks by limiting global temperature rise by the end of the century to within 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. Yet global temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have continued to rise despite the goals set by each of the signatories to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impact of climate change.

In 2015, the global surface temperature was 1 degree Celsius above the pre-industrial level, while the average atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was 399.4 parts per million (ppm). However, by 2024, the global surface temperature was 1.55 degrees above the pre-industrial level, and it was the warmest year on record. The atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration reached 425.48 ppm in August this year.

The national pledges on lowering emissions so far are proving inadequate to pull humanity away from climate hell.

Moreover, the US - the world's richest country, according to UBS - has again withdrawn from the Paris Agreement. It has in the past embraced the moral obligation of a big country by providing aid and disaster relief for others, but all that has changed under the Trump administration.

Decisions by leaders of major nations will have a significant impact on humankind. They must act with conscience to uphold their global responsibilities.

In addition to tackling climate change, we should also bear in mind the pledges made by UN member states to support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In Hong Kong, though officials rarely promote the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, there is much the authorities and the business sector can do in the next five years to take us closer to achieving a sustainable future for all.

Edwin Lau Che-feng, founder, The Green Earth

South China Morning Post, World leaders must act with conscience to prevent climate hell