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Climate Central's analysis for June to August 2025 reveals that at least 22% of the global population experienced temperatures made at least twice as likely by climate change daily. In the U.S., over 21 million people in 32 cities faced 30 or more 'risky heat' days added by climate change, with some cities, such as Honolulu, seeing all their risky heat days attributed to human-caused warming.

In 2024, global electricity demand rose by 4% to 30,856 TWh, driven largely by China and extreme heatwaves. Low-carbon sources reached a historic high of 40.9% of global generation, with solar and wind combined surpassing hydropower. Despite this, global power sector emissions hit a record high, increasing by 1.6% due to a rise in fossil generation linked to cooling demand during heatwaves.

In 2024, low-carbon electricity generation exceeded 40% of the global total for the first time in decades, driven by unprecedented solar energy growth. Despite this, extreme heatwaves increased electricity demand for cooling, leading to a slight rise in fossil fuel generation and record-high sector emissions. Solar energy has doubled its generation over the last three years, with China contributing over half of the 2024 increase. The report concludes that while short-term weather fluctuations can cause temporary fossil fuel spikes, the long-term trend is dominated by clean energy growth and electrification.

The report finds that global progress toward SDG 7 is off track, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. While electricity access reached 92% in 2023, 666 million people remain unconnected. Clean cooking access stands at 74%, leaving 2.1 billion people dependent on polluting fuels. Renewable energy's share of total final energy consumption was 17.9% in 2022, and global energy intensity improved by 2.1% in 2022. International public financial flows to developing countries for clean energy reached USD 21.6 billion in 2023, though this remains below the 2016 peak of USD 28.4 billion.

Since 1970, the coldest day of the year has warmed by an average of 7°F across 242 U.S. locations, with 97% of locations seeing a rise of at least 1°F. Winter cold snaps have also become shorter, decreasing by an average of six days in 97% of 244 analyzed locations. The most significant warming of coldest days occurred in the Ohio Valley (8.7°F) and Northwest (8.4°F) regions, with the highest individual increases recorded in Boise, Idaho (15.7°F) and Las Vegas, Nevada (14.3°F). These trends contribute to longer allergy and growing seasons, disrupted crop chill requirements, and altered water supplies.

In 2022, the EU electricity mix was led by nuclear (22%), gas (20%), coal (16%), and wind (15%), with solar accounting for 7.3%. While solar and wind continued their long-term growth trends, nuclear and hydro experienced significant declines due to plant closures and drought. Coal saw a temporary increase to offset these losses, while gas remained the only fossil fuel to show growth over the last two decades.

Between 1989 and 2019, Africa experienced a complex conflict landscape. While battle-related deaths have remained relatively low and stable since the early 2000s, the number of state-based conflicts reached a record high in 2019. There is a concerning increase in the involvement of the Islamic State and a rise in non-state communal conflicts. UN peacekeeping operations in the region saw a significant increase in troop size from 1999 to 2010.

The world is making progress toward SDG 7 but is not on track to meet 2030 targets at current ambition levels. While electricity access has expanded significantly, particularly in India, Bangladesh, and Kenya, Sub-Saharan Africa still faces a massive deficit. Clean cooking access is lagging due to population growth, and while renewable energy and energy efficiency are improving, they remain below the required rates to meet 2030 goals. Achieving these targets will require a substantial increase in annual investments across all three areas.

The world is not on track to meet SDG7 by 2030, with progress falling short across all four targets. While electricity access is accelerating in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and renewable energy is growing in the electricity sector, access to clean cooking remains the most lagging area. Energy efficiency is improving, particularly in the industrial sector, though the rate of improvement is below the target required to double the global rate by 2030.

The authors argue that a fixed effect-based meta-analysis is inappropriate for studying the climate-conflict relationship due to extreme causal heterogeneity across different climatic conditions, conflict types, and spatial scales. While acknowledging a minor coding error, they maintain that the distribution of effects across studies contradicts the claim of a robust, singular aggregate relationship between climate and conflict.

The paper investigates how climate change—specifically through resource scarcity, sea-level rise, and natural disasters—may increase the risk of armed conflict. It proposes a two-stage causal model where environmental changes trigger social catalysts such as economic instability, political instability, social fragmentation, migration, and inappropriate responses. The authors highlight a paradox: while global warming has accelerated, the frequency and severity of armed conflict have generally declined. Empirically, the authors find that statistical literature has failed to establish a robust, general association between resource scarcity and civil war, suggesting that conflict risk depends heavily on country-specific vulnerabilities and governance. The paper recommends prioritizing sustainable development in vulnerable societies and integrating security analysis into IPCC assessments.