Three-quarters of Paris Agreement pledges judged insufficient

Three-quarters of Paris Agreement pledges judged insufficient

As the US begins to withdraw from the global climate pact, the remaining pledges fall short in stemming planet-warming emissions growth.

News for the United Nations just gets worse.


First President Trump, on the first day he could legally do so, officially began to withdraw the United States from the UN's Paris climate agreement.

A day later a new analysis finds three-quarters of the remaining pledges inadequate to meet global climate goals – with many unlikely to be achieved at all.

At least 130 of the 184 nations to sign the Paris Agreement in 2015, including the United States, are falling far short, according to the Universal Ecological Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based group dedicated to analyzing climate science. Those efforts under the agreement are supposed to reduce global emissions 50 percent by 2030 to limit average global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

"With few exceptions, the pledges of rich, middle income and poor nations are insufficient to address climate change," says Sir Robert Watson, former chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and co-author of the report, "The Truth Behind Climate Pledges," released Tuesday.

"Simply, the pledges are far too little, too late."



The news came a day after Trump, in a move promised in 2017, formally began the year-long effort to extract the United States from pledges President Obama agreed to in 2015 as its part of the global agreement.

The U.S. agreed to cut its emissions by almost a quarter of 2005 levels by 2025, but Trump has spent the past three years rolling back environmental limits. State and local efforts are trying to fill the gap, the Ecological Fund said, but those efforts focus mostly on electricity generation and auto emissions and are failing to hit the mark.

China, the world's largest emitter, is expected to meet its pledge of "reducing its carbon intensity" by 60-65 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 – a measure that looks at the amount of CO2 emissions per unit of gross domestic product.

However, China's overall CO2 emissions increased by 80 percent between 2005 and 2018 and are expected to continue rising for the next decade, the report's authors concluded.

India, likewise, has vowed to cut its "emissions intensity" by 30 percent to 35 percent by 2030 – a promise it, too, is likely to keep. But like China, India's economy continues to expand, meaning its total emissions are likely to grow through 2030 due to economic growth.

The lack of ambition isn't limited to just the world's major emitters: Of the 184 country pledges in the Paris Agreement, 126 are partially or totally dependent on international finance, technology and capacity building. With no sign of international support for such efforts, many of those commitments may never materialize, the report concluded.

"it is naïve to expect current government efforts to substantially slow climate change," said James McCarthy, Professor of Oceanography at Harvard University and a co-author of the report.

There is one bright spot:

The European Union, with its 28 member states, stands alone among the five top greenhouse gas emitters to take an aggressive stand against climate change. The EU is expected to cut emissions 58 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, exceeding its Paris promise of "at least 40 percent of GHG emissions" below 1990's level."

The report ranks the EU pledge as sufficient.

A house is loaded onto a truck at a dock next to a body of water.

How a First Nation’s housing project could spark a home-rescue revolution

A small First Nation in British Columbia is showing how salvaged homes can become sustainable housing — and a blueprint for greener development.

David Beers and Quinn Kelly report for The Tyee.

Keep reading...Show less
Rows of solar panels in a large parking lot with a sign in the foreground displaying a General Motors logo.

Michigan reimagines its toxic land as a solar-powered future

Michigan wants to clean up its polluted past by turning contaminated industrial sites into a new solar-powered frontier.

Douglas J. Guth reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
Beige mushrooms grow alongside moss on a wet fallen log.
Credit: Rob/Unsplash

Mushrooms are cleaning up wildfire ruins — and may revive toxic land across America

After the deadly Los Angeles wildfires turned homes into chemical-laced rubble, one scientist is using mushrooms and native plants to detoxify the land and rethink how to clean up after disaster.

Mattha Busby reports for Atmos.

Keep reading...Show less
A group of people at a demonstration holding signs in support of science.
Credit: Photo by Vlad Tchompalov/Unsplash

Trump’s EPA quietly backs off from enforcing pollution laws

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has dramatically scaled back enforcement against major polluters, raising fears about the future of public health protections.

Tom Perkins reports for Grist.

Keep reading...Show less
Red car with EV charger hooked up to it.

Trump administration sued by 17 states over frozen funds for electric vehicle charging network

Seventeen states have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for halting billions in federal funding intended to expand the national electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Sophie Austin and Alexa St. John report for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
White microscopes on top of black table.

Zeldin’s EPA restructuring could curb climate action and strain environmental protections

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under Administrator Lee Zeldin, is downsizing staff to 1980s levels despite decades of added environmental responsibilities and growing public health challenges.

Sean Reilly, Jean Chemnick, Ellie Borst, and Miranda Willson report for E&E News.

Keep reading...Show less
A space satellite hovering above the coastline.
Credit: SpaceX/Unsplash

Trump moves to end federal studies on rocket and satellite pollution, raising concerns over Musk’s influence

The Trump administration plans to shut down research led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) into pollution from satellites and rockets that is tied in part to Elon Musk’s expanding space ventures.

Tom Perkins reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.