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Countries’ climate policies fall vastly short of meeting global warming goals, report finds

Nov 15, 2024, 9:10am EST
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Buildings are seen on a smoggy evening in Mumbai, India
Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo/Reuters

Countries’ climate plans are getting marginally closer to meeting the Paris Agreement warming goals, but actual policies to achieve those plans are falling vastly short.

A report this week from the research group Climate Action Tracker found that the growth of renewable energy over the past several years has been effectively canceled out, emissions-wise, by the parallel growth of fossil fuels.

As a result, global emissions in 2030 are on track to be nearly twice as high as they would need to be to stay within 1.5°C of warming, with the gap widening over time.

The study underscores that the non-binding nature of the Paris Agreement leaves a huge loophole for countries to underdeliver on their promises — and even those go nowhere near far enough.

A line chart showing global climate scenarios
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