Only 10 Out of 195 Countries Meet UN Deadline for Emissions Reduction Plans
As of February 10, only a handful of signatories to the Paris Agreement on climate change had submitted their plans, with the United States complying before the inauguration of Trump.
The deadline of February 10 for the 195 nations partaking in the Paris Agreement to submit their emissions-reduction strategies to the United Nations has passed, with merely 10 countries meeting the requirement.
The reasons behind the delays in report submissions from many nations remain uncertain.
When the Paris Agreement was launched in 2015, participating countries committed to the objective of preventing the global temperature from surpassing 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
According to the agreement, the optimal aim is to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
In order to ensure accountability, the accord mandates each country to outline its efforts, assess its outcomes, report its advancements, and discuss additional actions every five years.
These reports are termed Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). They encompass the commitments each nation has made towards achieving the COP’s (Conference of Parties to the Paris Agreement) targets for 2035.
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The current NDCs will be reviewed at a COP meeting scheduled for November.
A Change of Direction
In line with Donald Trump’s campaign promise, his administration initiated the process of withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, replicating actions taken during his first term.
President Joe Biden re-entered the Paris Agreement in 2021.
The other nine compliant nations included the United Kingdom, Saint Lucia, Ecuador, Andorra, Uruguay, Switzerland, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, and Brazil.
Notably, two significant industrialized nations, China and India, failed to submit their NDCs by the deadline.
How the Big Economic Powers Rate
As of September 2024, the Climate Action Tracker (CAT) provided an ongoing independent evaluation of national responses to climate change, rating China and India as “Highly Insufficient.”
The United States was rated as “Insufficient” in its climate change response according to CAT.
President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office on Feb. 10. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
The CAT analysis indicated that while the United States made some advancements under the Biden administration, it remains “far from meeting its domestic climate target—much less aligning its emissions with a 1.5 degrees Celsius pathway.”
International Cooperation
In 2023, under Biden’s guidance, the United States officially adopted the COP policy aimed at achieving net-zero carbon emissions in the energy and transportation sectors by 2050.
The Biden administration expressed its commitment to decarbonizing transportation, primarily relying on electric vehicles—a strategy that critics have labeled as an electric vehicle mandate.
The 2050 timeline proposed by the U.S. “is not compatible with the Paris Agreement,” according to the CAT analysis.
The IEA report stated that reaching the COP’s optimal target by the century’s end would necessitate a comprehensive set of actions and alignment with a 1.5 degrees Celsius pathway for comprehensive realization.
It also highlighted the significance of sustained multilateral collaboration in the implementation of the COP’s objectives.
The effects of the United States’ potential exit from the Paris Agreement remains to be seen.
Experts predict that the process of leaving the agreement could take up to a year.
The Trump Approach
Shifting away from fossil fuels stands in stark contrast to the commitments made by candidate Trump during his campaign to enhance American fossil fuel production with the aim of lowering gasoline prices, which he claimed would, in turn, reduce inflation.
The IEA indicates that another critical goal is to triple renewable energy capacity by accelerating the deployment of low-emission technologies within the next five years.
This objective also conflicts with the policies instituted during the Trump administration, which have massaged down the focus on renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
Trump also abolished the previously established electric vehicle mandate.
According to CAT, the United States leads globally in crude oil production, achieving record levels in 2023. It is also the world’s largest producer of fossil gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
In early 2024, the Biden administration imposed a temporary halt on pending LNG export terminals.
Trump reinstated the moratorium on January 20, marking the first day of his second term.
