Noon briefing of 10 November 2025

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,

DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

MONDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2025

COP30 

This morning, at the opening plenary of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, Simon Stiell, the UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, said that ten years ago in Paris, we were designing the future – a future that would clearly see the curve of emissions bend downwards. He pointed out that the emissions curve has been bent downwards, but we must move much faster - both on reductions of emissions and strengthening resilience. 

Mr. Stiell emphasized that we don’t need to wait for late Nationally Determined Contributions to slowly trickle in to spot the gap and design the innovations necessary to tackle it. He added that the economics of this transition are as indisputable as the costs of inaction. 

As you know, the Secretary-General was in Belém last week, where he participated at the Belém Climate Summit. On Friday afternoon, he spoke at a session on 10 years of the Paris Agreement: NDCs and Financing. He said that a temporary overshoot above 1.5 degrees - starting at the latest in the early 2030s - is now inevitable. But, he added, we can manage the scale and duration of that overshoot and bring temperatures back down, if we take serious action now.  

The Secretary-General called on all at COP30, to renew the great promise the world made a decade ago in Paris – by kickstarting a new decade of implementation and acceleration. 

And I also want to flag that today, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) today released its latest numbers updating the recent NDC Synthesis report. It shows that new NDCs, including many received in recent days, will reduce emissions by 12 per cent in 2035. UNFCCC highlighted that every very fraction of a degree of heating avoided will save millions of lives and billions of dollars in climate damages.  

CLIMATE/REFUGEES

The UN Refugee Agency today released a report showing that millions of refugees, people forced to flee, and their hosts are trapped in an increasingly vicious cycle of conflict and climate extremes. The report notes that by mid-2025, 117 million people had been displaced by war, violence and persecution. Three in four of them are living in countries facing high-to-extreme exposure to climate-related hazards. 

UNHCR pointed out that over the past 10 years, weather-related disasters have caused some 250 million internal displacements – equivalent to around 70,000 displacements per day. The report warns that whether it is floods sweeping South Sudan and Brazil, record-breaking heat in Kenya and Pakistan, or water shortages in Chad and Ethiopia, extreme weather is pushing already fragile communities to the brink.

Despite the challenges, UNHCR stresses that solutions are possible. Displaced and host communities can be powerful agents of resilience, but only if they are included in national climate plans, supported through targeted investment, and given a voice in decisions that affect their future. As the world gathers for COP30, UNHCR is urging governments, financial institutions and the international community to take decisive action. By including displaced people and their host communities in climate planning and decision-making, investing in adaptation and resilience-building, and ensuring that climate finance reaches those on the front lines.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY  

Turning to Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that one month into the ceasefire, efforts to ramp up aid are still being held back by red tape, ongoing bans on key humanitarian partners, too few crossings and routes, and insecurity that persists despite the ceasefire.  

Over the weekend, our teams reported shelling and navy fire in different parts of Gaza – though at much lower levels than before the ceasefire.  

In some areas, our teams still have to coordinate every movement in advance with the Israeli authorities. Yesterday, we made eight coordination attempts. Only two were fully facilitated, and four were impeded on the ground – including one that was delayed for 10 hours before the team finally received a green light to move.  

Despite the challenges, the UN and our partners are seizing every opportunity to expand operations.  

Yesterday, UN agencies kicked off the catch-up campaign for routine immunization, nutrition and growth monitoring – which we mentioned last week. UNICEF, the UN Relief and Works Agency, and the World Health Organization are carrying out the campaign with partners, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. The campaign focuses on children who missed earlier vaccination campaigns and aims to reach 44,000 children overall.  

Today, WHO reported that Al Kheir Hospital in Khan Younis resumed operations last week after being forced out of service following attacks in February 2024. The agency supported its rehabilitation by restoring water, sanitation, power and structural systems, and providing essential medical equipment and medicines.  

WHO also set up a new 20-bed nutrition stabilization centre at the hospital to treat children with acute and severe malnutrition. This brings the total across Gaza to seven such centres, with 70 inpatient beds in all.  

Between Wednesday and Friday, our humanitarian partners provided mental health and psychosocial support services to 1,500 children and 500 caregivers in different locations across the south. They received help with emotional expression and stress reduction, with messaging on the prevention of child abuse.  

Over the weekend, our humanitarian partners distributed nearly 40,000 winter clothing kits and pairs of shoes to children under 10. The UN and our partners are also distributing blankets to hospitals and other locations – including nearly 50,000 blankets between Wednesday and Saturday alone.  

Since the ceasefire, over the past month, our humanitarian partners have been providing water trucking services through 2,000 locations across the Gaza Strip. They’ve also distributed 15,000 hygiene kits and restored some domestic water supply in the Az Zaytoun neighbourhood of Gaza City by repairing a critical water line in the area.

SUDAN 

Moving to Sudan. Our humanitarian colleagues warn that the crisis in North Darfur State is deepening as violence spreads beyond the state capital, El Fasher. 

Following the Rapid Support Forces’ takeover of the city on October 26th, clashes continue to be reported along key access routes, trapping civilians and cutting off aid. Since that date, nearly 89,000 people have fled El Fasher and nearby villages, according to the International Organization for Migration. Many have sought refuge in the localities of Tawila, Melit and Saraf Omra, while others have travelled to Dabbah in Northern State. 

In Tawila and Dabbah, we and our partners are providing food, clean water, sanitation, healthcare and psychosocial support, among other essential aid, but needs far exceed the available resources. 

Some families from El Fasher have sought refuge in the locality of Tina, near the Sudan-Chad border, where local volunteers report that more than 3,000 displaced people urgently need food, shelter and healthcare. Across the border in eastern Chad, already overwhelmed host communities and our partners are preparing for new arrivals as people continue to seek safety and assistance. 

Meanwhile, violence is intensifying in the Kordofan region, resulting in mounting civilian casualties and new waves of displacement. The World Health Organization says it verified an attack on Dilling Hospital in South Kordofan State on November 6th that killed and injured people. The agency notes that this is the 192nd verified attack on health facilities in Sudan since April 2023.  

In neighbouring North Kordofan State, IOM says that as of yesterday, violence reported across the localities of Bara, Sheikan, Rahad, Um Rawaba and Um Dam Haj Ahmed displaced nearly 39,000 people over the prior two weeks.       

Partners report that more than 10,000 people have sought safety in White Nile State, while others have fled to Omdurman locality in Khartoum State and other parts of North Kordofan. 

Once again, we call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers, an end to attacks on hospitals and civilian infrastructure, and safe, unhindered access for aid to reach those in need across Sudan. 

UKRAINE 

From Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that over the weekend, large-scale attacks and hostilities caused civilian casualties and disrupted critical services across the country.   

Local authorities report that between November 7th and early this morning, at least 15 civilians were killed and more than 70 others injured as hostilities continued nationwide. 

On the night of November 8th, a wave of missile and drone strikes affected the regions of Chernihiv, Dnipro, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava and Sumy, according to the authorities and aid workers.   

On the same day, a clearly marked humanitarian evacuation vehicle came under a drone attack in the front-line town of Kostiantynivka, in the region of Donetsk. The passengers managed to escape before the vehicle was destroyed and were not injured. The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, condemned the attack, emphasizing that humanitarians must be protected.  

These attacks also damaged energy and residential infrastructure in several regions, including Chernihiv, Odesa and Poltava. They disrupted electricity, heating and water supply. making it even harder for vulnerable people to cope amid cold temperatures.  

Major cities – including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa – are experiencing power outages, with electricity available only for a few hours a day. In the city of Kharkiv, heating and water services remain disrupted, and public electric transport is partially suspended.                  

OCHA tells us that the UN and our humanitarian partners quickly mobilized, providing emergency shelter materials, blankets, hygiene items, hot drinks and psychosocial support in several areas, including the Dnipro, Kherson and Odesa regions. 

PHILIPPINES/SUPER TYPHOON FUNG-WONG 

Turning to the Philippines, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that super typhoon Fung-Wong, locally known as Uwan, made landfall yesterday. 

The storm hit the northern parts of the island of Luzon, following one of the largest coastal evacuations ever carried out in the Philippines. 

The Government is taking the lead in response and early recovery efforts. But as we mentioned last week, as part of efforts to get ahead of the typhoon, UN agencies and our partners have already provided cash assistance and reinforced shelters. 

With early warnings in place, more than 1.3 million people were preemptively evacuated in 13 out of 18 regions across the country. As of today, more than 480,000 people remain displaced, with over 6,000 evacuation centres operating today.   

Food, tents, hygiene kits and other supplies were prepositioned.  

OCHA continues to work closely with authorities and humanitarian agencies to assess damage and plan the response.  

Strong typhoons such as Fung-Wong will unfortunately be more likely as the climate crisis drives sea temperatures in the region higher, making our joint preparedness work more important than ever. 

Arnaud Peral, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Philippines, today commended the Government and first responders for their efficient preparedness, pre-emptive evacuations and other timely responses which he said undoubtedly saved lives. 

SECURITY COUNCIL 

Earlier today, Mr. Adedeji Ebo, Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, briefed Security Council members on small arms and light weapons. 

He said that since the Council’s last briefing on this matter two years ago, progress has been made on controlling small arms and light weapons. Yet over one billion firearms remain in circulation, fueling violence, terrorism, and organized crime. He warned that the misuse of such weapons has led to rising civilian deaths and deep socio-economic impacts.  

Mr. Ebo reiterated the Secretary-General’s calls for Member States to strengthen cooperation with UN mechanisms and to rebalance military spending toward peacebuilding and sustainable security. 

SCIENCE DAY FOR PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT 

Today is World Science Day for Peace and Development. This year’s theme, “Trust, Transformation, and Tomorrow: The Science We Need for 2050,” underscores science’s importance in achieving global goals and building a sustainable future.