Ten years on from the Paris Agreement, rich countries’ pitiful climate targets fall drastically short

In response to the latest Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) synthesis report published today, Nafkote Dabi, Climate Lead at Oxfam, said: 

“Ten years on from the Paris Agreement, we now see revealed a damning indictment of the collective failure of global leaders to address the climate crisis. The richest and most polluting countries have betrayed the people being hit the hardest by climate disasters, particularly those in low-income countries, Indigenous people and women. 

Countries’ climate plans will reduce global emissions by just 10% by 2035, far short of what is needed. Science is clear: emissions must fall by at least 60% from 2019 levels in order to avoid climate breakdown. The EU has failed to even submit a new NDC while the US has withdrawn totally from the Paris Agreement and is slashing its already minimal climate finance.  

China’s first emissions reduction target of 7–10% from peak levels by 2035 is a step forward but still falls short of aligning with global climate goals. Brazil, host of COP30, despite being a climate leader, continues to approve new oil exploration in the heart of the Amazon — a contradiction that undermines its credibility.

The COP30 Summit next month must put humanity onto a safer path by insisting that world leaders deliver much bolder and more equitable NDCs than the inconsistent and inadequate collection that currently sit on its table. Central to any progress must be the tackling the extreme carbon pollution of the super-rich: the emissions of the 1% alone are predicted to cause 1.3 million heat-related deaths by the end of the century, and blow through the world’s remaining carbon budget.

The richest countries and richest people are locking the world into a catastrophic trajectory which COP30 must arrest."