COP30 Host Brazil Calls For Bold National Emissions Reduction Plans Ahead of September Deadline

Only 29 governments have submitted updated emissions reduction plans since November. Among the 166 countries missing are some of the world’s largest emitters like the European Union, Iran, South Africa and China.

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COP30 host Brazil has urged countries to strengthen their emissions reduction plans ahead of a key deadline extension next month, after only 13 out of 195 nations met the previous deadline.

The upcoming COP30 summit, set to take place in Belém, Brazil this November, offers countries a unique chance to deliver ambitious plans for emissions reduction, better known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). These pledges, which must be updated every five years, form the foundation of the world’s collective efforts to tackle climate change under the Paris Agreement.

Only 29 governments have submitted updated NDCs since November. Among the 166 countries missing are some of the world’s largest emitters like the European Union, Iran, South Africa and China.

The initial deadline for submitting the plans was February, but it was extended to September 25 after only 13 of 195 submitted theirs on time.

The new deadline coincides with the UN General Assemblu annual meeting in New York. The UN climate change arm, also known as UNFCCC, will then compile the plans into a synthesis report that will provide negotiators in Belém with the latest information available.

“Far from representing mere climate targets for 2035, our NDCs represent the vision of our shared future. They are vehicles of cooperation, enabling us to realise this vision together. If the image shown by NDCs turns out disappointing, it is our collective responsibility to convert it into a picture that will ensure a livable planet, protect all economies, and improve living standards and life opportunities for all peoples, for all generation,” COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago wrote in a letter to countries on Tuesday, according to The Guardian.

‘Off Track’

According to Climate Action Tracker, the plans submitted so far cover less than 22% of global emissions. The independent assessment, which provides regularly updated information on countries’ emission reduction proposals, identified the UK’s plan as the only one in line with the 1.5C global warming threshold set in the Paris accord.

Beyond 1.5C of global warming, experts warn that critical tipping points will be breached, leading to devastating and potentially irreversible consequences for several vital Earth systems that sustain a hospitable planet, such as rising sea levels, more intense heatwaves, stronger storms, and disruptions to ecosystems and biodiversity.

The UN’s latest assessment of NDCs, published last October, found that current pledges put the world on track for a temperature increase of 2.6-3.1C over the course of this century.