Here's What the G-20 Nations are Pledging on Climate Change
- China, U.S., EU commit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Saudi Arabia alone among G20 nations has yet to make a pledge
Emissions billow from a smokestack in New Delhi.
Photographer: Kuni Takahashi/BloombergThe United Nations last December set a deadline of Oct. 1 for countries to submit pledges on what they’re prepared to do to rein in fossil-fuel emissions as part of their contribution to a new deal to fight climate change.
As of Friday, 119 submissions were on the website of the UN body overseeing the talks that involve more than 190 nations intending to seal the deal in Paris in December. Those pledges cover 146 countries, because they include a single commitment from the 28-nation European Union. The 10 biggest polluters all submitted documents. Iran is the biggest yet to do so. That country is the 11th biggest emitter, accounting for about 1.5 percent of global greenhouse gases, according to World Resources Institute. Other holdouts include Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Qatar, which hosted the UN climate talks in 2012.