Global update

The September 2021 Global Update by the Climate Action Tracker (CAT) finds that global climate action continues to lag behind the requirements for limiting warming to 1.5°C. While some countries have updated their NDCs, the 2030 emissions gap remains significant, estimated at 20 to 23 GtCO2e. The report introduces a new rating system that integrates targets, policies, and climate finance, revealing that only The Gambia is overall 1.5°C Paris Agreement compatible. Most net zero targets are rated as poor or incomplete, and developed countries are failing to provide sufficient international climate finance or implement policies that align with their fair share of global mitigation efforts.

• Updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted in 2020–2021 have only marginally reduced the 2030 emissions gap for 1.5°C by approximately 2.6–3.9 GtCO2e, or 11–14%, leaving a remaining gap of 20 to 23 GtCO2e.
• Under the new CAT rating system, which evaluates targets, policies, and finance, only The Gambia is rated as overall 1.5°C Paris Agreement compatible. The UK is the only developed country rated better than 'Insufficient', scoring as 'Almost sufficient'.
• The majority of national net zero targets are lacking in scope, architecture, and transparency. Only Chile, Costa Rica, and the European Union have targets considered 'acceptable'.
• Developed countries are generally failing to meet their 'fair share' of global mitigation efforts and are not providing sufficient international climate finance to support developing nations.
• There is a critical lack of progress in phasing out fossil fuels, with China building 75% of the world's new coal-fired power plants in 2020 and India maintaining the second largest coal plant pipeline globally.
• Several governments have failed to increase their climate ambition since 2015, either resubmitting the same targets or introducing changes that do not meaningfully increase mitigation efforts. These include Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, and Viet Nam.
• If all 131 announced or considered net zero targets were fully implemented, global warming by 2100 could be limited to 2.0°C, which is still above the 1.5°C goal.

APA

Fekete, H., Höhne, N., Jeffery, L., Moisio, M., Casas, M. J. D. V., Hans, F., Mooldijk, S., Nascimento, L., Illenseer, N., Stockwell, C., Fyson, C., Geiges, A., Ramalope, D., Hare, B., Gidden, M., Horsch, J., Ganti, G., & Schaeffer, M. (2021). Global update. NewClimate Institute. https://climateactiontracker.org/documents/871/CAT_2021-09_Briefing_GlobalUpdate.pdf

Chicago

Fekete, Hanna, Niklas Höhne, Louise Jeffery, Mia Moisio, Maria Jose de Villafranca Casas, Frederic Hans, Silke Mooldijk, et al. Global update. NewClimate Institute, 2021. https://climateactiontracker.org/documents/871/CAT_2021-09_Briefing_GlobalUpdate.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{fekete2021global, author = {Fekete, Hanna and Höhne, Niklas and Jeffery, Louise and Moisio, Mia and Casas, Maria Jose de Villafranca and Hans, Frederic and Mooldijk, Silke and Nascimento, Leonardo and Illenseer, Niklas and Stockwell, Claire and Fyson, Claire and Geiges, Andreas and Ramalope, Deborah and Hare, Bill and Gidden, Matt and Horsch, Jonas and Ganti, Gaurav and Schaeffer, Michiel}, title = {{Global update}}, institution = {NewClimate Institute}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://climateactiontracker.org/documents/871/CAT_2021-09_Briefing_GlobalUpdate.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }