Climate Pledges Still Fall Short as Fossil Fuel Emissions Hit Record High, Says Report

The world is still on track to attain 2.6 degrees Celsius increase in temperature as countries have not made sufficiently strong climate pledges, while emissions from fossil fuels have hit a record high, two major reports have found.

According to the Climate Action Tracker report, despites submitting new emission-reducing targets, i.e., Nationally Determined Contributions (NCSs), to date, little to no measurable progress has been made even after ten years of signing the Paris agreement.

Even a decade after global leaders unanimously agreed to cut down greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rapidly and collectively at Paris by inking a legally binding agreement, the world is unable to control the the volume of emissions, warned another report published by the Global Carbon Budget.

The Global Carbon Budget report was launched in Belem on the side lines of the ongoing 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It has shown that global fossil fuel-linked emissions are still increasing and projected to hit 38.1bn tonnes, an all-time high, during the current year. The latest projected GHG volume shows a marginal increasing trend over the last year.

The report also stated that India contributes 3.2bn tonnes of GHG volume and its rate of emissions growth, though still higher than the global average, is gradually declining mainly due to an emphasis on solar power production, according to Down To Earth.

The Global Carbon Budget report, prepared by Future Earth and the World Climate Research Programme, added that global carbon emissions from fossil fuels are projected to increase by 1.1% in 2025 compared to 2024. It claimed that the remaining carbon budget for keeping the global temperature rise within 1.5 degree Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era benchmark, a Paris mandate, will be exhausted in about four years if emissions continue at current levels.

India Improves Emissions Trends

According to the Global Carbon Budget report, the current volume of global GHG emission is about 10% higher than 2015, when the Paris Agreement was adopted, stating that the trend is “a clear sign that despite progress, the world is still heading in the wrong direction”.

In addition, the report revealed that India produced about 3.19bn tonnes of GHG emissions in 2024. This is set to rise about 1.4% in the current year reaching 3.23bn. India produced 3.1bn tonnes in 2023 levels.

While India’s emissions increase is still higher compared to the global average, the report observed an improvement. “India’s emissions are projected to increase by 1.4% … slower than recent trends,” read the report. It added that “an early monsoon (that) reduced cooling requirements in the hottest months …combined with strong growth in renewables (has) led to very low growth in coal consumption”.