My Climate Change News

Many economies set climate mitigation targets for 2020 at the 2009 15th Conference of the Parties conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen. Yet no retrospective review of the implementation and actual mitigation associated with these targets has materialized. Here we track the national CO2 emissions from both territory and consumption (trade adjusted) perspectives to assess socioeconomic factors affecting changes in emissions. Among the 34 countries analysed, 12 failed to meet their targets (among them Portugal, Spain and Japan) and 7 achieved the target for territorial emissions, albeit with carbon leakage through international trade to meet domestic demand while increasing emissions in other countries. Key factors in meeting targets were intensity reduction of energy and the improvement of the energy mix. However, many countries efforts fell short of their latest nationally determined contributions. Timely tracking and review of mitigation

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Climate change presents a fundamental challenge to lives, livelihoods and the sustainable development of society. Global net anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 were 1.54 times higher than those in 1990 (ref. 1). Climate-related extreme events such as floods, heat waves2, droughts and compound events (extreme events emerging together or in succession) have continuously increased, resulting in greater public awareness of climate change as an urgent issue3. With the need for international action paramount, countries across the world are supposed to take action on the principle of 'common but differentiated responsibilities’4,5. It is thus critical to analyse countries’ specific climate change objectives, measure their implementation of commitments in a timely manner and work together to mitigate climate change.

The annual Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is a vital platform for...