Overview
A safer and healthier climate delivers a more secure and prosperous future for everyone, especially children, who are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change. One billion children, representing nearly half of children globally, live in countries that are at extremely high risk from the impacts of climate change (UNICEF). That’s why climate action is central to CIFF’s work to improve the lives of children.
2025 marked the ten-year anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement, offering an opportune moment both for reflection and for charting an ambitious path forward. Whilst much more urgent and deep work is needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, huge progress has been made this past decade in line with global climate goals. Specifically, in 2025:
Renewables surpassed coal in the global power mix, with solar and wind growing fast enough in the first half of 2025 to exceed global electricity demand growth. This marked the first time on record that renewables generated more electricity than coal.
Source: Ember Energy, 2025
Private climate finance is accelerating rapidly, with current growth rates indicating that the world could reach US$6 trillion in annual climate investment by 2028 – the most conservative estimate of what is required each year to stay aligned with climate goals.
Source: Climate Policy Initiative, 2025
Historic legal decisions have provided climate-vulnerable regions with unprecedented protections. In July the International Court of Justice issued a unanimous advisory opinion outlining that states have binding legal obligations under international law to prevent climate harm, protect the environment, and combat climate change.
Source: International Court of Justice, 2025
Accelerating clean technology across key sectors: matching climate ambition with reality in Europe
Key sectors such as energy, industry and transport are the largest drivers of global greenhouse gas emissions, with energy contributing approximately 75.7% of total global emissions (World Resources Institute, 2026). At the same time, these sectors are fundamental to powering our lives and economies, and have the potential to lift millions of people out of poverty globally. In 2025, CIFF continued to support partners focused on accelerating clean investments that can strengthen the economy while meeting global climate and health needs. This included supporting partners to coordinate technical assistance across critical sectors such as aviation and shipping, where clear pathways to decarbonise are still emerging.
Globally, these efforts sit within a much wider shift, as clean energy investment reached over US$ 2.2 trillion in 2025 – double the levels from 2019, reflecting growing recognition that climate action and human development go hand in hand. This progress is only possible when there is strong political will, and in 2025 we saw multiple examples of technical innovation, where there was a receptive policy environment, enabling large-scale uptake. Europe is a strong example.
The EU’s Clean Industrial Deal, passed in February 2025, aims to ensure that Europe’s climate ambition translates into real benefits for people - including more affordable clean energy, stable employment in emerging green industries, and healthier communities.
Building climate participation: the voices of young people heard loud and clear
The scale of the climate challenge means progress cannot happen in isolation – it requires meaningful action from every part of society. As a philanthropy, we are part of a much larger global effort and one of the most important roles we can play is enabling others to participate fully. From individuals and communities, to global governance structures, climate action must work for everyone – and this starts with making sure every voice is heard.
Young people are on the frontline of climate impacts, yet they have historically lacked both the space and the tools to influence global processes. Through the Children and Youth Pavilion at COP, youth-led organisations now have an institutionalised, youth-governed space within the UN climate process to brief negotiators, contribute to policy discussions, and feed real-time insights into negotiations. Capacity is also growing through the Youth Negotiators Academy, which trained more than 300 young people in 2025, including 150 youth negotiators who participated at COP30, helping level the playing field for young delegates from under-represented regions. These efforts are reinforced by the Presidency Youth Climate Champion, which has become a formal position within each COP Presidency to embed youth perspectives in decision making, ensuring young people help shape the climate decisions that will define their futures.
Supporting the climate transition in specific regions and countries: green growth and resilience in South America
While the causes and effects of climate change are global, knowledge and solutions must be tailored to specific local contexts to ensure that economies can deliver prosperity whilst simultaneously limiting emissions. No two countries are the same and therefore the pathway for green growth will look different to reflect varying unique contexts. Throughout the year we worked with a broad ecosystem of partners around the world to demonstrate that green growth can be a reality.
In Brazil – host of COP30, the 30th UN Climate Change Conference – our partners continued to support efforts to tackle climate change. Renewable energy constituted nearly 90% of all new additions to Brazil's energy grid, supported by government incentives that accelerated the deployment of clean power. This has helped increase green industrial growth in key sectors such as green steel and shipping fuels. Brazil’s progress sits within a wider regional story: across South America, deforestation has nearly halved since the 1990s, and 98% of Uruguay’s electricity now comes from renewables. This push has halved costs, created over 50,000 jobs and has enabled the country to export clean energy to Argentina and Brazil.
By enabling green growth, we can help ensure every child reaches their full potential, for this generation and for generations to come.
%20(1).webp)
