Climate action promised by countries would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 9% in this decade — far short of the global goal of cutting emissions by nearly half by 2030, a new analysis shows.
Failing to meet the 2030 emissions target risks pushing the world toward irreversible climate impacts, even if a second goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 is met, scientists say.
For the analysis, Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy tallied countries' climate plans — known as Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs. The result "highlights the gap in the ambition of NDCs and the trajectory necessary to meet net-zero emissions by 2050," the report says.