Countries are falling short of targets to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, according to a new OECD report.
The latest Climate Action Monitor states there is a risk net-zero targets may not be achieved, noting most current commitments lack any legal enforcement tools.
OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said there was a significant gap in policy ambition between globally agreed temperature goals and the emissions reductions of national climate targets.
Mr Cormann said Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) currently committed would result in reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of only 14 percent by 2030, compared to 2022 levels.
He said this is well short of the estimated 43 percent global emission reduction needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, which was the Paris Agreement goal.
“As of August 2024, 110 countries have pledged a net-zero target for 2050 and beyond, covering about 88 percent of global GHG emissions.
“However, only 27 countries and the EU, representing 16 percent of global GHG emissions, have enshrined these targets into law.”
Mr Cormann said the 2024 Climate Action Monitor underscored the growing impact of climate-related hazards and confirmed that countries’ emission reduction pledges were not enough.
“Making real progress on the net-zero transition requires more ambitious mitigation targets and effective implementation”.
He said the report highlighted a recent slowdown in climate policy action across countries that produced nearly two thirds of total greenhouse gas emissions.
“Based on the Climate Actions and Policies Measurement Framework (CAPMF), which tracks both the number of adopted national climate policies and their stringency, national climate mitigation action only expanded by one percent and two percent in 2022 and 2023 respectively, compared to an average of 10 percent per year between 2010-21.
He said this trend suggested that there could be a significant implementation gap where even the current modest GHG emissions reduction targets may not be achieved by 2030.
Read the full report: The Climate Action Monitor 2024.
