The majority of countries that are party to the Paris climate agreement have missed the deadline to submit new national climate plans, while research group Climate Action Tracker (CAT) found that several are not aligned with Paris accord goals.
Just 12 countries had submitted new climate plans, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), by time of writing today — the UAE, Brazil, the US, Uruguay, Switzerland, the UK, New Zealand, Andorra, Saint Lucia, Ecuador, Singapore and the Marshall Islands. UN climate body the UNFCCC had set 10 February as the deadline for countries to submit their third NDCs, setting out climate action and targets up to 2035.
CAT said that of the six NDCs it analysed, just the UK's was aligned with the Paris agreement. The UK plan is "about the only bright spot" among the countries it tracks, CAT noted. But it warned that the UK government "has inherited a vast implementation gap" and must take "urgent action" to introduce and strengthen policies to ensure emissions reduction targets are reached.
The UK aims to cut emissions by 81pc by 2035, from a 1990 baseline. The country should support its goals with more international climate finance to be "a fully 1.5°C aligned contribution", CAT said.
The Paris agreement seeks to limit the rise in global temperature to "well below" 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and preferably to 1.5°C.
CAT noted "a significantly more ambitious" target for 2035 from the UAE, compared with its 2030 goal, but flagged the need for details on the country's planned emissions cuts. It noted a "lack of transparency" in Brazil's NDC and found that, despite an increase in ambition, New Zealand's 2035 NDC "falls short".
Switzerland's new NDC "is diverging from a 1.5°C aligned pathway", CAT said. And it said that while the US is leaving the Paris agreement, the country"s NDC "can still be a guiding document for the roughly half of the US states who support continued climate action."
But many climate policy observers have emphasised that higher ambition and comprehensive plans are far more important than timeliness.
The EU, Canada, Mexico and Norway committed to new, Paris-consistent NDCs at the UN Cop 29 climate summit in November.
Climate Action Tracker tracks around 40 countries and the EU, covering around 85pc of global emissions and 70pc of global population. The Paris agreement has a ratchet mechanism, which requires countries to review and revise climate plans every five years, increasing ambition. The UNFCCC deadline for NDC submissions is not enforceable.
