Only 13 Out of 195 Member States File Revised Paris Climate Targets
February 10, 2025 was the deadline for updated climate action plans under the Paris Agreement, and only 13 plans were submitted to the UNFCCC. According to experts from the Climate Action Tracker website, all but one of the plans submitted still fall short of the 1.5°C goal. Temperatures are rising, and pressure is mounting, but will nations step up before it’s too late?
In line with the Paris Agreement, every five years Member States are expected to submit revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to outline their emission reduction goals with an ambition to adhere to the 1,5°C goal. Existing plans are due to expire in 2030, which is why this current NDC deadline is crucial to defining a path forward to 2035.
According to the UNFCCC’s NDC Register, countries that submitted on time were
• Andorra
• Brazil
• Ecuador
• The Marshall Islands
• New Zealand
• Singapore
• St. Lucia
• Switzerland
• Uruguay
• U.S.A
• U.K.
• UAE
• Zimbabwe.
However, the vast majority of Member States, including the European Union, failed to meet this critical due date. Although missing this deadline does not incur formal penalties, commitment delays can have significant implications on global climate goals, policy implementation, and maintaining momentum for climate action.
“The Paris Agreement, and the recently agreed upon framework for Article 6, promised to do more, to be better with our natural resources, and to take ambitious action against climate change. Seeing how few Member States paid heed to the February commitment deadline is disheartening and shows just how much work lies ahead of us to uphold our current targets for future generations,” says Vincent Erasmy, Carbon Competence Lead at First Climate.
Still falling short of 1.5° Goal
According to the Climate Action Tracker website, even the drawn-up plans which met the submission deadline are, in most cases, insufficient to meet the Paris Agreement’s well-known goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. In addition to this, the U.S. plan was submitted by the previous administration before the US formally withdrew from the Paris Agreement again last month.
With the climate clock ticking, global leaders face mounting time pressure to step up their climate commitments and introduce their ambitious plans before the next round of negotiations at COP 30 later this year.
Erasmy goes on to say, “There’s no time left to wait. If Member States continue to procrastinate, it places even more pressure on the private sector and businesses to pick up the slack. The changing political direction of climate action has given a clear signal that our hopes cannot rest on politics alone. At First Climate, we are positioned to give companies the tools they need to champion impactful corporate climate action and sustainability.”
