A report says the world has failed to slow or stop global warming trends in the past five years because plans weren’t realized and efforts that would have helped were canceled out. The grim assessment came during a U.N. climate meeting in Turkey where more government leaders were due to speak Thursday about their climate plans. The independent Climate Action Tracker said climate action has essentially stalled for five years. In contrast, the world did so much in the first five years after the 2015 Paris Agreement, it trimmed an entire degree Celsius from warming projections. The report's lead author said nations' newest promises won't “move the needle” of project warming and countries need to make stronger targets.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told a U.N. climate summit that the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza isn't only a genocide but an ecocide. Ergodan on Wednesday called on Israel to allow aid into the Palestinian territory. Torrential rains and floods have destroyed tents and shelters in Gaza. That has left many Palestinians without food, water or dry places to sleep. A 2025 U.N. Environment Program report says the war has severely damaged Gaza’s crops and trees, contaminated marine ecosystems and decimated its ability to handle sewage and garbage.

As world leaders arrive at United Nations climate talks in the Turkish resort town of Antalya, calling for urgent climate action, co-host Turkey also wants to halve the amount of global waste in the next decade. While the transition away from fossil fuels and the push for electrification through renewables is the cornerstone of this year’s conference, known as COP31, experts say reusing materials and more efficient manufacturing can also play a big role in cutting planet-heating emissions. Analysts say that reusing materials instead of investing in more mining in the creation of new technology, like solar panels and batteries, could be a major cost saver for nations.