2025 has been a year of extremes. We’ve seen climate events redefine what “crisis” means, youth-led protests on social conditions, a mix of setbacks e promising progress in climate targets and ambitions. Against this backdrop, national delegations reconvened at COP30 in Belém, Brazil in an extremely fragmented and uncertain political landscape.
As the year draws to a close, we gathered as a Community and discussed: what are the main lessons from 2025? And how can we turn the tensions of recent years – marked by fear and impatience – into sources of resilience and creativity for a more constructive 2026?
We kicked off with an honest and empowering conversation between Christiana Figueres, key negotiator behind the 2015 Paris agreement, and Kirsten Dunlop, CEO of Climate KIC and one of the leading voices in the systems innovation ecosystem. Next, we shared highlights from our Community and initiatives for 2026, setting the stage for collaborations in the upcoming year.
Key insights from the conversation
Paris Agreement Anniversary & COP30 Reflections
- 2025 Paris Agreement (on 12 December, it was its 10th anniversary): The agreement represents a global strategic plan to protect against climate change’s worst consequences, not solve it entirely.
- Shift in leadership: National governments are no longer leading climate action; leadership has diffused to subnational governments, private sector, coalitions, NGOs, scientists, and more.
- COP30’s Mutirão: Brazil officially recognized this diffusion of leadership through the concept of “muchirão” (collective action), which gained widespread support.
- Matryoshka doll framework: Climate action can be organized like Russian nesting dolls, with individuals at the center, nested within increasingly larger systems up to the planetary level
- NDCs and reality gap: Current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) often represent political expediency rather than reality; joining efforts from all system levels will make NDCs more accurate
- Emerging contributions: City-states like Lagos are presenting their own state-determined contributions (SDCs) and multi-faith/citizens’ assemblies are also exploring people-determined contributions (PDCs)
- ICJ ruling & legal direction: This COP30 was the COP with the highest representation from judicial institutions. Although the International Court of Justice only gives non-legally binding advisory opinion, it signals the legislative direction and law is moving. It acts as a marker for companies and countries to anticipate and prepare for future legal compliance requirements.
Geopolitical Context & European Response
- Current Challenge: Europe is facing pressure to pull back from climate legislation in the current geopolitical situation described as “macro bullying”, requiring countries to either cower or stand up with integrity.
- Hope for change: There are signs that Trump control has peaked in the US, with evidence of erosion in bullying tactics (e.g., recent elections, Supreme Court signals).
- Call to action: Need for governments to anticipate political bullying’s inevitable outcome and act with courage now.
- Macro perspective: Humanity is undergoing unprecedented evolution—combining technological shift with societal/cultural evolution toward justice, health, and better living conditions
2026 Priorities & Approach
- We’re at a strategic turning point. We have the following approaches to dive into:
- Granular Approach: Deeper work inside countries, sectors, demographic groups where difference is made
- Meta Approach: Influencing common mindset across all sectors, ages, and demographics
- Both approaches needed; organizations must work in coalition, not competition, recognizing mutual support
- Attitude as foundation: “Impossible is not a fact, it’s an attitude”. We have to trust that with so many engaged, almost all opportunities will be addressed by someone. We need to lift each other up and trust in complementary efforts.
Climate KIC’s 2026 Strategic Directions
1. Securing Europe
- Closing perception gap around climate action being unaffordable or politically inexpedient
- Using innovation as “Trojan horse” to maintain momentum
- Positioning research, innovation, and education as key ingredients for European competitiveness
- Bringing industry and cities together around lead markets and green transition opportunities
- Focusing on regional resilience and circular economy breakthroughs
2. Asia Partnership & Well-being Economy
- Active participation in birthing well-being economy in partnership with Asia
- Strong interest from Asia in European innovation community due to Europe’s history of collaboration and cooperation changing political economy
- There’s a grounding work in nature-rich, biodiversity-rich regeneration logic that we can learn from
3. Radical Collaboration
- Doubling down on working differently across organizations
- Key initiatives: Collaborative for Systemic Climate Action, Systems Transformation Hub, Impact Coalition in Asia
- Moving beyond superficial collaboration to actively combining complementary capabilities
- Learning from one another more closely, raising funds together, stretching boundaries