OSLO, (Reuters) – Developed nations are on track to cut their greenhouse emissions by almost 30 percent by 2030, Reuters calculations show, falling far short of a halving suggested by a U.N. panel of scientists as a fair share to limit climate change.
Australia became on Tuesday the last big developed nation to submit its strategy for cuts in the run-up to a U.N. summit in Paris in December, rounding off pledges by nations led by the United States, the European Union and Japan.
The developed nations, which have historically emitted most greenhouse gases by burning fossil fuels, are expected to lead by announcing deep cuts before the Paris summit, which is meant to agree a United Nations pact to limit warming beyond 2020.
Their collective ambitions are falling short.
A Reuters review of national pledges shows that a core group of developed nations intends to cut emissions to the equivalent of 9.0 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030 from 12.2 billion in 2010.
That implies a 26 percent cut but the final total could be closer to 30 percent mainly because U.S. President Barack Obama’s cuts run only to 2025, opening the possibility of deeper cuts beyond that date. U.S. emissions account for about half of the total for developed nations.
The other developed nations’ cuts extend to 2030.
“The overall ambition of the developed countries is still not sufficient,” said Niklas Hoehne, founding partner of the New Climate Institute that tracks pledges, referring to a U.N. goal of limiting rising temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times.
