Currently, Only One Country Is On Track To Meet Its Climate Action Targets

The Gambia is the only country in the world that is currently on track to meet its climate goals under the Paris Accord. It is located at the westernmost tip of Africa and is largely surrounded by Senegal.

Climate Action Tracker, an independent research group, assessed 36 countries and the European Union and classified them into five groups based on their efforts to meet the Paris climate agreement targets.

The Gambia was found to have taken sufficient action to achieve its goals.

Over 190 countries have committed to reducing carbon emissions by 2030 to levels that will limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.

In the report, seven countries, Morocco, Kenya, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Nepal, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom, took almost sufficient actions and could meet their climate targets.

Despite the United States, Germany, and the European Union introducing a slew of new regulations to combat carbon emissions, the report found that their efforts were insufficient to meet their climate goals.

Some of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases worldwide, including Australia, Russia, Brazil, and Indonesia, fell short of their targets set during the Paris climate accords.

The report notes that, at the current rate, the world’s emissions will double the target set during the Paris Climate Agreement by 2030.

The major obstacle to climate action is that many countries are heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Over the years, fossil fuel industry investments have led to powerful lobbies working to water down or block regulations seeking climate action.

A recent report found that a great deal of fossil fuel reserves must be left untouched if the world is to meet the climate targets set during the Paris Climate Accords.