The world is still falling far short of committing to the emissions cuts needed to meet the Paris targets, a new UN analysis warns.
, starkly shows the modest momentum towards meeting the world's climate targets during the past year.The UN analysis examines countries' voluntary emissions reduction and climate adaptation pledges, known as nationally determined contributions, or NDCs.
Studies show some of the most devastating consequences of climate change, such as steeper sea level rise and the demise of tropical coral reefs,Despite calls in Glasgow for countries to step up with more stringent emissions plans, just 24 did so post-COP26 . This may be partly due to the geopolitical turbulence and economic headwinds related to the Ukraine war and lingering effects from the COVID pandemic, which sapped momentum.
Last year's review of voluntary emissions pledges showed that CO2 emissions would continue increasing after 2030, but this is no longer the case in this year's edition.Given carbon dioxide's long atmospheric lifetime, the world has a finite budget for the amount of emissions before it is virtually certain that warming will reach or exceed the 1.5-degree and 2-degree targets.