Countries remain committed to Paris Agreement despite US exit, and other nature and climate stories you need to read this week

As the US plans to exit the Paris Agreement on climate, the remaining nations stay committed to achieving its goals, according to Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in a recent speech, Reuters reports.

The US's withdrawal from the agreement – which has a goal of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C and reducing greenhouse gas emissions – was one of President Donald Trump's first executive actions upon taking office.

While the US may be the world's second-biggest greenhouse gas emitter, Stiell called for calm as he encouraged countries to prepare stronger national climate plans this year.

Despite the positivity from Stiell, many of the world's biggest polluter nations have just missed a UN deadline to set new climate targets known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Climate change has made extreme weather events such as storms both more frequent and more intense.

Insurers blame 'significant and consistent bad weather' for the record weather-related damage payouts last year totalling $726 million (£585m) in the UK, according to data from the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

The figure is 28% higher than the weather-related claims payouts for 2023, indicating the frequency and intensity of these weather events is increasing.

Mark Shepherd, Head of General Insurance Policy at the ABI, said: “Our latest data serves as a blunt reminder of the devastating damage that adverse weather can cause to people’s homes and businesses".

These figures emphasize the importance of climate-resilient infrastructure as the planet continues to warm, says Shepherd: "We continue to advocate for climate resilience measures to be carefully considered in all planning decisions and building standards, to ensure properties are fit for the future and that they are not built in areas prone to climate risk".

Scientists are monitoring the abundance of Antarctic krill from space, as a measure of ocean health. "They are tiny, unsung heroes that sustain incredible marine life, but climate change and unsustainable fishing are putting them at risk," says Rod Downie, chief polar adviser at the wildlife charity WWF-UK. Downie added: "They are climate heroes too, playing a critical role in drawing down carbon from the ocean surface".

New York was sued by 22 other US states over a law requiring fossil fuel companies to contribute $75 billion over 25 years into a fund that will pay for damage caused by climate change, Reuters reports.

Ireland's Prime Minister Micheál Martin has urged Ireland to invest more in its electricity grid to prepare for future extreme weather events after Storm Eowyn battered the country, leaving 74,000 homes, farms and businesses without power for a week, according to Reuters.

Only 39.5% of European Union surface water bodies are achieving good ecological status, and only 26.8% are achieving good chemical status, according to new reports published by the European Commission. The reports did, however, note partial improvements such as in aquatic plants in lakes.

The cost of major clean energy technologies is forecast to fall by 2-11% in 2025, according to a report by BloombergNEF. Cheaper renewable energy allows countries to move away from fossil fuel consumption, helping them to achieve their climate goals.

More than 10,000 people were forced to evacuate the Greek tourist island of Santorini after a series of earthquakes hit on 5 February, Reuters reports.

Climate change is already having very real and damaging effects on natural ecosystems, but also on communities, jobs and property around the world. Yet there is a lot to be hopeful about, writes Gim Huay Neo, Head of the World Economic Forum's Centre for Nature and Climate, as she reflects on the progress made on climate initiatives at the Annual Meeting 2025 in this article.

Resilience is key to climate action in a disrupted world, says Bernice Lee, Distinguished Fellow and Senior Advisor, Chatham House. Geopolitical shifts and challenges have slowed momentum for climate action in recent months and years, but resilience offers a framework for adapting to a wide range of disruptions, she says.

Countries such as the US have recently signalled a shift away from the energy transition and towards extracting more fossil fuels, with the aim of securing cheap, reliable energy supplies. But does sustainability have to be the enemy of energy security and affordability, or can the world have all three? Find out here.