EDITORIAL: The year just gone by was the planet’s hottest on record; the first month of this year was also rated as the warmest January on record. Yet there seems to be no sense of urgency among nations, especially major polluters, to prepare their plans for greenhouse gas emissions reduction described by the UN Climate chief Simon Stiell as “the most important policy document of this century”.
Only 12 countries have met the February 10 deadline for presenting their national climate plans and targets, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), required under the Paris Agreement for limiting global warming to 1.5C above the pre-industrial level.
Only three of the G20 countries, the US, Britain and Brazil which is to host this year’s UN climate summit, have published their NDCs. However, the pledges made by the previous US administration no longer are valid since President Donald Trump, who calls global warming “a hoax”, has withdrawn Washington from the Paris climate deal, prioritising fossil fuel development to advance his country’s energy dominance. All other principal polluters have missed the deadline.
China, one of world’s leading emitters and also its largest renewable energy investor, suggest reports, is expected to release its NDCs in the second half of the current year. Similarly, the EU bloc is to unveil its collective target ahead of the UN COP30 climate conference.
Another big polluter, our next-door neighbour India, has yet to submit its plan of action, and is likely to do that in the second half this year. More important than the reporting time is what New Delhi intends to put in it. A report appearing in The Indian Express, has quoted unnamed officials as saying its NDCs will “reflect disappointment of the climate finance outcome at COP29 in Baku.”
This implies that the BJP government is not about to make a significant change in its climate policies. In fact, it remains insistent on ‘phasing down’ rather than ‘phasing out’ fossil fuels that are contributing in large measure to environmental degradation on this side of the border.
What all these old and new polluters plan to do really matters. The UN climate chief hopes they are taking more time to ensure their plans are first-rate. As per the Paris Agreement, emissions need to be reduced to 45 percent by 2030 and reach the net zero by 2050. Given the present trends, these seem hard to achieve targets.
Countries like Pakistan with small carbon footprints but bearing the brunt of climate crisis also need to properly outline their plans and policies as well as what they expect from the historical and current polluters for submission to the UN climate change secretariat by September for inclusion in the UN’s consolidated NDCs report to be published before COP30.
That is where advanced discussions are to be held on important climate finance issues such as reform of the international financial architecture and actions individual countries need to take by way of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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