CORVALLIS, Ore. – The seventh annual report by an international coalition led by Oregon State University scientists says the Earth’s climate system is quickly becoming unstable and that while signs of important societal changes are emerging, greater and faster action is necessary.
“Rapid destabilization is now a diagnosis rather than a warning for the future,” said one of the report’s co-lead authors, William Ripple, distinguished professor emeritus in the OSU College of Forestry. “The accelerating expansion of renewable energy and advances in battery storage are encouraging, but they are only part of the transformation needed to stabilize the climate system. A more resilient and sustainable future depends heavily on big cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, effective adaptation and ecosystem protection.”
Published today in BioScience , “The 2026 state of the climate report: challenges and opportunities” notes that of the 16 climate indicators the coalition tracks, seven are at record extremes and multiple others are also trending in the wrong direction, raising concerns about interacting feedbacks and an increasing risk of crossing critical tipping points.
The purpose of the annual report, Ripple said, is to monitor the Earth’s “vital signs” and to encourage global leaders and policymakers to “move away from the business-as-usual approach that’s persisted despite decades of evidence showing that human activities are driving dangerous changes in the climate.”
The atmospheric carbon dioxide level of 428 parts per million is higher now than at any time in the last 2 million years and roughly 50% greater than it was before the dawn of the Industrial Age in the late 1700s. July 2026 was the hottest month on record in the contiguous United States, and global ocean temperatures also reached a record high in July.
The authors stress that cutting emissions remains essential but is no longer sufficient by itself. They call for rapidly deployable adaptation measures such as urban cooling, wetland and mangrove restoration, wildfire preparedness, water conservation, distributed solar energy and more resilient food systems.
“With low-carbon sources now providing about 43% of global electricity, we may be witnessing the emergence of what we call the ‘Age of Electricity,’” said co-lead author Christopher Wolf, a former Oregon State postdoctoral researcher. “That is a reason for hope, but fossil fuel use and emissions are still at record levels, so the transition needs to accelerate dramatically.”
Human activity, mainly fossil fuel consumption, is taxing the planet’s life-support systems by driving profound shifts in the atmosphere, oceans and biosphere, the authors note, to the point that extreme heat, floods, droughts, storms and wildfires are no longer rare events.
“Climate change is increasingly interacting with global biodiversity loss, freshwater stress, food insecurity, pathogens and geopolitical instability, amplifying risks across interconnected human and natural systems,” the authors write.
They add that communities least responsible for historical emissions, particularly in the Global South and small island nations, are already bearing disproportionately severe consequences.
Also from the report:
“Many climate solutions are already technically feasible and increasingly cost competitive, but because climate change is driven by interconnected energy, economic, ecological and social systems, truly meaningful progress will likely depend on integrated responses across multiple sectors and scales,” Ripple said. “In many emerging economies, climate mitigation must also be pursued alongside pressing development objectives, including expanding access to affordable and reliable energy.”
Improved climate tools, Ripple notes, are already helping policymakers, researchers, educators and the public better understand the complexity of climate solutions. As an example, the authors cite the En-ROADS Climate Solutions Simulator , which allows users to see how combinations of policies, technologies and societal changes could influence future warming, energy systems, economic outcomes and climate risks.
“Achieving the necessary emissions reductions and societal shifts at the speed and scale required depends on deep transformations in energy generation, consumption patterns, food systems, economic priorities and governance structures, in ways that also promote biodiversity protection,” said Wolf, now a scientist with Corvallis-based Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Associates. “Without those transformations, we won’t be able to stabilize the climate system and reduce the risk of crossing dangerous Earth system tipping points.”
Also collaborating on the report were Jacob Bukoski of the OSU College of Forestry; Jillian Gregg of Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Associates; Michael Mann of the University of Pennsylvania; Johan Rockström of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research; Unai Pascual of the Basque Centre for Climate Change; Chi Xu of Nanjing University; Sarah E. Perkins-Kirkpatrick of the Australian National University; Thomas M. Newsome of the University of Sydney; and Anjal Prakash of FLAME University.
The CO2 Foundation provided partial funding.
BioScience
Meta-analysis
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The 2026 state of the climate report: challenges and opportunities
14-Oct-2026