Staff Writer
Current national climate plans fall far short of what is needed to avert catastrophic climate change, the 2024 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) Synthesis Report reveals.
The report assesses the combined impact of nations’ current national climate plans on expected global emissions in 2030, among other measures.
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell, said it must mark a “turning point, ending the era of inadequacy and sparking a new age of acceleration,” with much bolder new plans from all nations next year.
The report highlights that current plans if fully implemented, would only lead to a 2.6% reduction in emissions by 2030 compared to 2019 levels.
However, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that emissions need to be cut by 43% by 2030 and 60% by 2035 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
With countries currently working on new NDCs due next year, this year’s report shows only marginal progress from last year and only a fraction of what is expected – and urgently needed – next year.
“Every fraction of a degree matters,” Stiell stressed. “The next round of national climate plans must deliver a dramatic step up in climate action and ambition.”
To achieve this, countries must develop ambitious new emissions targets that cover all greenhouse gases and are backed by concrete policies and funding.
Additionally, they must detail adaptation plans to protect vulnerable communities and infrastructure from the impacts of climate change.
Stiell said COP29 is a vital moment in the world’s climate fight. He added that COP29 must be an enabling COP that delivers concrete and ambitious outcomes on climate finance that take into account developing countries’ needs.
“Governments must come to Baku ready to convert the pledges in the UAE Consensus at COP28 – tripling renewables, the global goal on adaptation, transitioning away from all fossil fuels – into real-world, real-economy results, protecting people and their livelihoods everywhere.”