Most Nations Aiming for Net-Zero Fail to Meet Targets, Study Shows
The gap between government promises and what’s actually being done to eliminate emissions puts the world at risk of catastrophic warming.
Solar panels in New York.
Photographer: Bing Guan/BloombergA new scientific assessment of government commitments to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions found most lack credibility and would put the world on track to experience catastrophic global warming by the end of this century.
About 90% of net-zero plans by a group of about three dozen countries are unlikely to be achieved, with confidence levels of “lower” or “much lower,” according to a study published Thursday in Science. Among the laggards are India, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, host of the upcoming United Nations climate summit. The world’s top two emitters, China and the US, ranked in the “lower” category.