DeBriefed 19 September 2025: EU ducks UN climate target; Australia delivers; Tracing beef’s impact on the Amazon
Summary
<p>Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed. An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate...</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/debriefed-19-september-2025-eu-ducks-un-climate-target-australia-delivers-tracing-beefs-impact-on-the-amazon/">DeBriefed 19 September 2025: EU ducks UN climate target; Australia delivers; Tracing beef’s impact on the Amazon</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org">Carbon Brief</a>.</p>
<p class="has-text-align-center"><em>Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed. </em><br /><em>An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change.</em></p>
<p class="has-text-align-center"><em>DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne. Please send any tips or feedback to </em><a href="mailto:[email protected]" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><em>[email protected]</em></a>.</p>
<p class="has-text-align-center"><em>This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s weekly DeBriefed email newsletter. Subscribe for <a href="https://subscribepage.io/carbonbrief" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">free here.</a></em></p>
<h1 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>This week</strong></h1>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>EU delay</strong></h3>
<p><strong>NO NDC: </strong>The EU has “failed to agree” on a 2035 target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in time for a climate event taking place alongside the UN general assembly next week, the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/48d4fc6f-b47d-47b6-a976-36ab3fbfd502">Financial Times</a> reported. On 24 September, representatives from more than 100 nations will take part in an event where they will announce or offer more details on their 2035 climate plans, known as “<a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-what-are-intended-nationally-determined-contributions/">nationally determined contributions</a>” (NDCs), Carbon Brief understands. The FT added that, instead of agreeing to a target, EU member states have signed up to a “statement of intent”, which noted that the bloc would aim to cut emissions somewhere in the range of 66.3% and 72.5% by 2035. </p>
<p><strong>DEADLY: </strong>Meanwhile, recent analysis showed that more than 16,000 heat deaths that occurred from June to August this year in the EU can be attributed to fossil-fueled global warming, reported the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/sep/17/human-made-global-warming-caused-two-in-three-heat-deaths-in-europe-this-summer-analysis-finds">Guardian</a>. Other recent research covered by <a href="https://www.euronews.com/green/2025/09/15/europe-faces-billions-in-losses-from-summer-heatwaves-droughts-and-floods-study-warns">Euronews</a> indicated that this summer’s extreme weather events will cost the region about €126bn by 2029.</p>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Australia delivers</strong></h3>
<p><strong>NEW TARGET: </strong>Australia announced an NDC target of cutting emissions to between 62% and 70% below 2005 levels by 2035, reported the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-announces-2035-climate-target-of-62-70-percent-emissions-cut-20250918-p5mw0l.html">Sydney Morning Herald</a>. This is a jump from the current goal of 43% by 2030, providing a “major challenge to the government and the economy”, given that Australia’s emissions have fallen by just 28% over the past two decades, the newspaper added.</p>
<p><strong>RISING THREATS: </strong>The country also published its first national climate risk assessment this week, which concluded that 1.5 million Australians living in coastal areas could be at risk from sea level rise by 2050, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c930454e77xo">BBC News</a> reported. The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/sep/15/australia-national-climate-risk-assessment-summary-five-key-takeaways-heat-related-deaths-economic-cost-climate-change">Guardian</a> added that the report looks at 10 “priority hazards”, including flooding and extreme heat, forecasting a rise of 190% in annual heat-related deaths in Sydney if warming reaches 2C.</p>
<h1 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Around the world</strong></h1>
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;"></div>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>FURTHER CHALLENGE: </strong>Construction workers announced an indefinite strike in Belém, the Brazilian city hosting COP30 this year, to demand better wages, <a href="https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ambiente/2025/09/trabalhadores-da-construcao-civil-em-belem-anunciam-greve-paralisacao-deve-afetar-obras-da-cop30.shtml">Folha de São Paulo</a> reported. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/un-limits-staff-cop30-climate-summit-over-accommodation-concerns-2025-09-15/">Reuters</a> reported that the UN had “urge[d] its staff to limit attendance” at COP30, due to concerns over high accommodation costs.</li>
<li><strong>CUTTING EMISSIONS:</strong> India’s power sector CO2 emissions fell by 1% year-on-year in the first half of 2025, only the second such reduction in 50 years, according to new <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-indias-power-sector-co2-falls-for-only-second-time-in-half-a-century/">Carbon Brief</a> analysis. The <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/emissions-from-power-sector-down-1-year-on-year-in-first-half-of-2025-says-study/amp_articleshow/123959377.cms">Times of India</a>, <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/indias-power-sector-co2-emissions-fell-by-1-year-on-year-in-1st-half-of-2025-101758167308599-amp.html">Hindustan Times</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/indias-power-sector-co2-emissions-fall-second-time-over-four-decades-report-says-2025-09-17/">Reuters</a> and the <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/first-time-indias-co2-emissions-from-power-sector-dip-in-jan-june-10256436/lite/">Indian Express</a> were among those to cover the analysis. </li>
<li><strong>NEW THREAT:</strong> A US Environmental Protection Agency proposal to stop collecting industrial emissions data threatens plans to capture and store CO2, reported the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/12/climate/epa-emissions-data-collection-halt.html">New York Times</a>. Meanwhile, the US National Academies responded to the Trump administration’s <a href="https://preview.carbonbrief.org/doe-factcheck/index.html">misleading claims</a>, with a report calling climate change “beyond scientific dispute”, said <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/17/climate-change-beyond-scientific-dispute-national-academies-report-says-00568552">Politico</a>. </li>
<li><strong>‘REALITY CHECK’: </strong>A German government report called for cost efficiency and rapid – but limited – expansion of renewables, <a href="https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/qa-what-does-governments-reality-check-mean-germanys-energy-transition">Clean Energy Wire</a> reported.</li>
<li><strong>SECOND CALL:</strong> The International Energy Agency reiterated that the world would not need to invest in new oil and gas projects if demand for the fuels fell in line with the 1.5C limit on global warming, <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/iea-reiterates-no-new-oil-and-gas-needed-if-global-warming-is-limited-to-1-5c/">Carbon Brief</a> reported. </li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;"></div>
<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />
<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center"><strong>1%</strong></h1>
<p class="has-text-align-center">The percentage of global electricity consumption currently taken up by data centres, according to a new <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/ai-five-charts-that-put-data-centre-energy-use-and-emissions-into-context/">Carbon Brief</a> explainer looking into the climate impact of artificial intelligence.</p>
<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;"></div>
<h1 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Latest climate research</strong></h1>
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;"></div>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Forest specialist birds, such as the red-cockaded woodpecker and the bearded bellbird, are more diverse and abundant in undisturbed forests | <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/geb.70118?af=R">Global Ecology and Biogeography</a></li>
<li>Community-led surveillance expands protection, monitoring and defence of larger areas in Amazon forests | <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-025-01633-6">Nature Sustainability</a></li>
<li>Incorporating aerosols can improve the accuracy of climate attribution studies, since aerosols “strongly influence” local heat extremes | <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212094725000611?dgcid=rss_sd_all">Weather and Climate Extremes</a> </li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;"></div>
<p>(For more, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth daily summaries of the top climate news stories on <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/daily-brief/eu-2040-delay-australias-climate-threat-hydrogen-outlook-hacked-back/">Monday</a>, <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/daily-brief/oil-and-gas-decline-europes-climate-cost-debate-down-under/">Tuesday</a>, <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/daily-brief/warming-kills-16500-europeans-eu-climate-target-postponed-trump-uk-visit-protests/">Wednesday</a>, <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/daily-brief/australias-2035-climate-target-uks-new-nuclear-golden-age-climate-danger-beyond-dispute/">Thursday</a> and <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/daily-brief/eu-climate-deal-fails-trump-urges-uk-drilling-reaction-to-australia-target/">Friday</a>.)</p>
<h1 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Captured</strong></h1>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img alt="DeBriefed_Image_IPCC_Sevent_Assessment_Working_Group_Authors_Global_South" class="wp-image-59148" height="1225" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image.png" width="1600" /></figure>
<p>The seventh assessment cycle of the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> (IPCC), the world’s leading climate science authority, will include more authors from global south institutions than ever before, according to <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-ipccs-seventh-assessment-has-record-high-representation-from-global-south/">Carbon Brief</a> analysis. A total of 660 scientists from 90 countries will write the three reports in the next assessment cycle, scheduled for publication in 2029. Some 42% of those authors belong to institutions based in the global south (see chart above), according to Carbon Brief. </p>
<h1 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Spotlight</strong></h1>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Tracing beef in the Brazilian Amazon</strong></h3>
<p><em>In this spotlight, Carbon Brief reports from the Amazonian state of Pará, Brazil, which is implementing new measures to track the impact of beef on deforestation.</em></p>
<p><em>The state will host the COP30 climate summit in November.</em></p>
<p>The Amazonian state of Pará is home to 26m beef cows. The second-largest driver of deforestation in the state is cattle ranching.</p>
<p>Maria Gorete Rios is a small cattle producer in Pará’s municipality of Novo Repartimento. She was the first in Pará to implement individual identification of her cattle.</p>
<p>Of the 78 hectares of her land, 50 hectares are used for cattle and grazing, 10 hectares for her forest reserve and four hectares for producing cocoa and other crops such as cassava, beans, squash and açaí – a fruit native to the Amazon.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img alt="A beef cow in Novo Repartimento, Brazil. " class="wp-image-59153" height="575" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/DSC01618-1.jpg" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A beef cow in Novo Repartimento, Brazil. Credit: Yanine Quiroz</figcaption></figure>
<p>Gorete began identifying her cattle thanks to Pará’s first mandatory <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/newsroom/brazil-first-statewide-cattle-traceability-program/">cattle traceability programme</a>, announced by the state government at <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/cop28-key-outcomes-agreed-at-the-un-climate-talks-in-dubai/">COP28</a> in 2023. The programme seeks to make the cattle supply chain more transparent and to channel incentives for producers to reduce deforestation.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img alt="A beef cow with an ear tag tracking device." class="wp-image-59155" height="768" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/IMG_2577-1.jpg" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A beef cow with an ear tag tracking device. Credit: Yanine Quiroz</figcaption></figure>
<p>To track her cows, Gorete has given each of them an ear tag tracker, which allows the programme to record which farm each cow was raised on, which slaughterhouse it went to and whether it was raised in illegally deforested areas, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodrigo-mauro-freire-11363659/?originalSubdomain=br">Rodrigo Freire</a>, private areas leader for <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/">The Nature Conservancy</a> (TNC) in Brazil’s Amazon, explained to Carbon Brief.</p>
<p>To verify that an area was not deforested for cattle production, Brazil’s government has a mandatory <a href="https://www.gov.br/pt-br/servicos/inscrever-imovel-rural-no-cadastro-ambiental-rural-car#:~:text=Depois%20das%20estrelas%2C%20entre%20par%C3%AAnteses,Os%20n%C3%BAmeros%20s%C3%A3o%20atualizados%20diariamente.&text=O%20que%20%C3%A9?,ou%20possuidor%20de%20im%C3%B3vel%20rural.">registry</a> for rural farmers, which collects information on land use changes over farms, <a href="https://rocketreach.co/fabio-schuler-medeiros-email_58484635">Fábio Medeiros</a>, strategic cattle partnerships director at TNC, told Carbon Brief.</p>
<p>Gorete supports the traceability system because she believes that rural or small producers do not keep proper records of their property. She added:</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>“With traceability, they will be able to keep track. I think it’s fantastic.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Further benefits</h3>
<p>In addition to traceability, Gorete has begun to combine livestock farming with tree planting, under an “<a href="https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/glossary/agriculture/index.html#section-agroforestry">agroforestry</a>” system.</p>
<p>She said that her land had been 100% degraded by industrial livestock farming, but now her planted trees provide shade for her livestock, as well as water availability and habitat for other animals.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img alt="Amazonian farmer Maria Gorete Rios." class="wp-image-59154" height="768" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/IMG_2556-1.jpg" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Amazonian farmer Maria Gorete Rios. Credit: Carbon Brief</figcaption></figure>
<p>Gorete told journalists visiting her farm that diversifying her agricultural production with trees and beekeeping provides her with more income. She added:</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>“I’m happy where I am. Livestock allows me to pay the highest fees, because livestock is what sustains us. I have açaí, I have cocoa, the basis of my diet. I also have to cultivate the land.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Medeiros said that, with COP30 coming to the state in November, more incentives are expected for producers to comply with cattle traceability in the region.</p>
<p><em>Travel to Pará was organised by </em><a href="https://www.tnc.org.br/"><em>The Nature Conservancy Brazil</em></a><em>, </em><a href="https://climaesociedade.org/en/"><em>Instituto Clima e Sociedade (iCS)</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://nature4climate.org/"><em>Nature4Climate</em></a><em>. </em></p>
<h1 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Watch, read, listen</strong></h1>
<p><strong>10 YEARS OF PARIS: </strong>Ahead of the 10-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement, climate writer David Wallace-Wells reflected on progress and setbacks for climate action in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/magazine/climate-politics-us-world-paris-agreement.html">New York Times</a> magazine.</p>
<p><strong>COP REFORM: </strong>For the <a href="https://www.chathamhouse.org/2025/09/un-climate-process-remains-indispensable">Chatham House</a> blog, climate geopolitics expert Bernice Lee addressed the arguments for how the UN climate process should “evolve to move from pledge-making to delivery”.</p>
<p><strong>‘BLACK GOLD’:</strong> A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBY06JHJtIo">Reuters</a> video showed how New York is turning food scraps into nutrient-rich soil, dubbed “black gold”.</p>
<h1 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Coming up</strong></h1>
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;"></div>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>9-23 September: </strong><a href="https://sdg.iisd.org/events/80th-session-of-the-un-general-assembly-unga-80/">80th session of the UN general assembly</a>, New York</li>
<li><strong>21-28 September:</strong> <a href="https://www.worldenvironmentday.global/">New York Climate Week</a></li>
<li><strong>24 September: </strong><a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/climate-summit-2025">NDC summit at the UN general assembly</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;"></div>
<h1 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Pick of the jobs</strong></h1>
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;"></div>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>IPCC working group one technical support unit</strong>, <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/2025/09/17/com-officer-ipcc-wg-i-tsu/">communication officer</a> | Salary: Unknown. Location: Paris</li>
<li><strong>The Economist</strong>, <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/09/02/the-economist-is-hiring-a-science-and-technology-correspondent">science and technology correspondent</a> | Salary: Unknown. Location: London</li>
<li><strong>Rainforest Alliance</strong>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4298272604/">climate director</a> | Salary: Unknown. Location: London</li>
<li><strong>Conservation International</strong>, <a href="https://phh.tbe.taleo.net/phh04/ats/careers/v2/viewRequisition?org=CONSERVATION&cws=39&rid=2538">director of natural climate solutions policy</a> | Salary: Unknown. Location: Singapore, Japan or Australia</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;"></div>
<p class="has-text-align-center"><em>DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne. Please send any tips or feedback to </em><a href="mailto:[email protected]" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><em>[email protected]</em></a>.</p>
<p class="has-text-align-center"><em>This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s weekly DeBriefed email newsletter. Subscribe for <a href="https://subscribepage.io/carbonbrief" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">free here.</a></em></p>
<div class="guten-block block-related-articles-slider block-related-articles-slider-block_d5208dc6eccedfaa17ec3dc47537329a ">
<div class="container">
<div class="row col-edges related-slider">
<div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-3">
<div class="card card-category">
<a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/debriefed-12-september-2025-africa-calls-for-promised-finance-deadly-heat-linked-to-big-oil-how-to-tackle-net-zero-backlash/"><img src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/debriefed_HERO_BLANK-300x200.png" /></a>
<div class="content mh">
<p class="text-header-s content"><a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/debriefed-12-september-2025-africa-calls-for-promised-finance-deadly-heat-linked-to-big-oil-how-to-tackle-net-zero-backlash/">Debriefed 12 September 2025: Africa calls for promised finance; Deadly heat linked to big oil; How to tackle net-zero backlash</a></p>
<div class="meta-info d-flex justify-content-start align-items-center">
<p class="text-tag-s">DeBriefed</p>
<span class="pipe-spacer">|</span>
<p class="text-tag-meta">12.09.25</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-3">
<div class="card card-category">
<a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/debriefed-5-september-2025-pakistan-floods-hit-1-8m-people-uk-eco-populism-how-warming-threatens-a-man-made-lake/"><img src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/debriefed_HERO_BLANK-1550x1033-1-300x200.png" /></a>
<div class="content mh">
<p class="text-header-s content"><a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/debriefed-5-september-2025-pakistan-floods-hit-1-8m-people-uk-eco-populism-how-warming-threatens-a-man-made-lake/">DeBriefed 5 September 2025: Pakistan floods hit 1.8m people; UK ‘eco-populism’; How warming threatens a man-made lake</a></p>
<div class="meta-info d-flex justify-content-start align-items-center">
<p class="text-tag-s">DeBriefed</p>
<span class="pipe-spacer">|</span>
<p class="text-tag-meta">05.09.25</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-3">
<div class="card card-category">
<a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/debriefed-29-august-2025-record-wildfires-solar-myths-factchecked-climate-veteran-on-cop-reform/"><img src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/debriefed_HERO_BLANK-1550x1033-1-300x200.png" /></a>
<div class="content mh">
<p class="text-header-s content"><a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/debriefed-29-august-2025-record-wildfires-solar-myths-factchecked-climate-veteran-on-cop-reform/">DeBriefed 29 August 2025: Record wildfires; Solar myths factchecked; Climate veteran on COP reform</a></p>
<div class="meta-info d-flex justify-content-start align-items-center">
<p class="text-tag-s">DeBriefed</p>
<span class="pipe-spacer">|</span>
<p class="text-tag-meta">29.08.25</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-3">
<div class="card card-category">
<a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/debriefed-22-august-2025-pakistan-floods-china-emissions-drop-climate-adaptive-architecture/"><img src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/debriefed_HERO_BLANK-300x200.png" /></a>
<div class="content mh">
<p class="text-header-s content"><a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/debriefed-22-august-2025-pakistan-floods-china-emissions-drop-climate-adaptive-architecture/">DeBriefed 22 August 2025: Pakistan floods; China emissions drop; Climate-adaptive architecture</a></p>
<div class="meta-info d-flex justify-content-start align-items-center">
<p class="text-tag-s">DeBriefed</p>
<span class="pipe-spacer">|</span>
<p class="text-tag-meta">22.08.25</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/debriefed-19-september-2025-eu-ducks-un-climate-target-australia-delivers-tracing-beefs-impact-on-the-amazon/">DeBriefed 19 September 2025: EU ducks UN climate target; Australia delivers; Tracing beef’s impact on the Amazon</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org">Carbon Brief</a>.</p>