By AFP - Agence France Presse
Almost all nations miss the UN deadline for new climate targets
Nick Perry
Almost all nations missed Monday's UN deadline to submit new targets for cutting carbon emissions, including major economies under pressure to show leadership after the US backtracked on climate change.
Only 10 of the nearly 200 countries that, according to the Paris Agreement, must submit new climate plans by February 10 did so on time, according to a UN database that tracks submissions.
Under the climate deal, each country must provide a steeper principal figure for reducing heat-trapping emissions by 2035 and a detailed plan for how to achieve this.
Global emissions have been rising, but need to be cut by almost half by the end of the decade to limit global warming to the safer levels agreed in the Paris agreement.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell called this latest round of national pledges “the most important political documents of this century”.
However, only a handful of major polluters delivered updated targets on time, with China, India, and the European Union being the biggest names on a long list of absentees.
Most of the G20 economies didn't show up, with the United States, Great Britain, and Brazil, which will host this year's UN climate summit, being the only exceptions.
The US commitment is largely symbolic, made before President Donald Trump ordered Washington to pull out of the Paris Agreement.
- Accountability
There is no penalty for submitting late targets, formally called nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
They are not legally binding, but function as an accountability measure to ensure that countries are taking climate change seriously and doing their fair share to achieve the Paris goals.
The slow response will not alleviate fears of a possible setback in climate action, as leaders juggle Trump's return and other competing priorities, from budget and security crises to electoral pressure.
Ebony Holland, of the International Institute for Environment and Development, said that the US retreat was “clearly a setback”, but that there were many reasons for the poor turnout.
“It's clear that there are some broad geopolitical shifts underway that are proving challenging when it comes to international cooperation, especially on big issues like climate change,” said Holland, policy lead at the London-based think tank.
The EU, historically a leader in climate policy, has been delayed by elections and internal processes and is preparing for new votes in Germany and Poland.
An EU spokeswoman said that a collective target for the 27-nation bloc would be unveiled “well in advance” of the UN's COP30 climate conference in November.
“We will continue to be a leading voice for international climate action,” she said.
Analysts say China - the world's biggest polluter and largest investor in renewable energy - is also expected to launch its long-awaited NDC in the second half of 2025.
The United Arab Emirates, Ecuador, Saint Lucia, New Zealand, Andorra, Switzerland and Uruguay completed the list of countries that reached the limit on Monday.
- Missing in action
Evans Njewa, a Malawian diplomat and president of the Least Developed Countries group, said that many poorer nations lack the financial resources and technical know-how to compile such complex and cost-effective policies.
“The big emitters, whose historic and continuous pollution has driven the climate crisis, must take responsibility and set an example,” he told AFP.
Countries have been consistently late in submitting periodic updates of their NDCs since the Paris agreement was signed in 2015.
Last week, Stiell called for countries to submit their “first class” proposals by September so that they can be properly assessed ahead of the UN climate summit in Bethlehem.
“The worsening climate crisis will not wait or pause its disastrous impact while nations delay their action plans,” said Tracy Carty of Greenpeace International.
Linda Kalcher, executive director of the think tank Strategic Perspectives, said that in some cases, countries should work on fine-tuning quality proposals rather than launching something weaker in a hurry.
“The concern is that if too many countries delay, it could give the impression that they are unwilling to act,” she told AFP.
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