Less Than 1/3 Of Nations Give CRAP-30 Emissions Commitments; US Has, But w/o Even Remote Possibility Of Keeping Its Word
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So many have missed both the original and extended deadlines that a United Nations assessment released Tuesday could offer nothing more than a “limited” picture without “global-level conclusions” about the planet’s trajectory. “What has been officially been submitted so far doesn’t change the picture, and that is very unfortunate,” said Niklas Höhne, a co-founder of the Germany-based NewClimate Institute and contributor to U.N. emissions reports. “There seems to be very little political appetite to come forward with ambitious climate commitments.”
The report was able to take stock of just 64 pledges — representing about one-third of signatory nations. If those 64 countries follow through with their plans, the report said, their emissions would fall 17 percent by 2035, compared to 2019 levels. That is far shy of the 37 global percent reduction that the UN says is necessary to keep warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). The projection also has a huge caveat. It includes a U.S. plan submitted in the final weeks of the Biden administration that President Donald Trump has said he has no intention of fulfilling.
The report underscored how addressing climate change has diminished as a global priority amid political backlash to green goals. In the latest marker of a tonal shift, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates — who once warned of “catastrophic” consequences from climate change — released a lengthy essay Tuesday reassuring that humanity will be able to “thrive” for the foreseeable future, and that some of the emphasis on emissions-cutting is misplaced. “Although climate change will have serious consequences — particularly for people in the poorest countries — it will not lead to humanity’s demise,” Gates wrote.
Ed. - IOW, "Oh, you're poor? Sucks to be you."
The Paris agreement set a goal to limit temperature rise to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius, while aiming for 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit). The 1.5 scenario would require emissions cuts of 57 percent by 2035. Last week, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said overshooting that mark is “now inevitable" — a notable admission, given that annual climate conferences are full of rhetoric about keeping the hope for 1.5 alive.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/10/28/climate-pledges-united-nations-ndc/