As 2025 comes to a close, global NEET (not in education, employment, or training) rates continue to be a pressing issue. According to ILO estimates, this constitutes 25% of the world’s population in the 15-24 age group. Young women are especially impacted, with rates twice those of young men, and while this is a global issue, the figures for low- and middle-income countries (L&MICs) are more than double their high-income counterparts. 

As we approach mid-2025, it may be easy to forget last year’s record global weather anomalies associated with global warming and the recent El Niño event. This cyclical phenomenon occurs in the Pacific Ocean and significantly affects weather patterns, affecting millions of people living along the eastern and western Pacific coasts, as well as in countries across the Indian Ocean. El Niño and other climate drivers also cause more frequent extreme weather events such as droughts and floods.

Climate change alters or destroys ecosystems on land, oceans and coasts, leading species to extinction, forcing animals to migrate for survival and resulting in the emergence of non-native invasive species. This biodiversity loss can, in turn, exacerbate the climate crisis with greater carbon emissions from land-use change and deforestation.