Kezee Procita assembled this fascinating CRS report (26 October 2021) - appropriate on the eve of COP26 in Glasgow: 'Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Pledges by Selected Countries - Nationally Determined Contributions and Net-Zero Legislation'.
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Summary
Human-related emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) have increased globally over time. These increasing emissions contribute to a changing climate, which is a concern for governments, organizations, and other stakeholders. Many governments are taking steps to reduce GHG emissions in an effort to lessen the potential impacts of climate change. Two ways in which national governments are making efforts to reduce GHG emissions are by setting emission reduction targets in updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and by enacting domestic legislation aimed at achieving net-zero emissions, referred to as net-zero legislation. Net- zero emissions or net-zero refers to situations where human-caused GHG emissions are balanced by removal of GHG from the atmosphere, including by natural storage in forests and other ecosystems as well as by technological removal and storage.NDCs are the primary communication of how Parties to the Paris Agreement (PA) are seeking to achieve the agreement’s goals. NDCs reflect countries’ own national climate plans, including emission reduction goals, adaptation plans, and other elements. All NDCs must address GHG emissions reductions, and most NDCs list quantifiable GHG emission reduction targets. Many countries requesting financial assistance include two sets of targets: targets unconditional on international support and additional, more ambitious targets that are conditional on international support. Parties must submit subsequent NDCs every five years; these submissions reflect a progressive set of targets that contribute to a collectively increased ambition over time. Increased ambition is reflected in some of the NDCs submitted in 2020, which, in many instances, include countries’ actions by the year 2030. Many countries have submitted updated NDCs in 2020 and 2021 in advance of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), which was originally scheduled to be held in November 2020 but was postponed until November 2021 due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
CRS selected to track herein the NDCs of 44 countries; the countries were identified using various criteria (e.g., G20 members, top 20 GHG emitters, countries with enacted or introduced net-zero legislation). Of the 44 countries, 31 have submitted updated or second NDCs, 21 of which include more ambitious GHG emission reduction targets than the first NDCs.
The PA asks countries to commit to increasingly ambitious GHG mitigation efforts and encourages countries to submit long- term low GHG emission development strategies. These strategies do not necessarily translate into clear pathways or concrete domestic efforts to reach net-zero emissions. Some countries have proposed or enacted legislation aiming to achieve net-zero emissions domestically, in addition to pledges in their NDCs. Other countries, like the United States, have references to net- zero emissions in policy documents without having enacted legislation.
Research by the Law Library of Congress indicates that 22 countries or regions have enacted legislation and three have proposed legislation; the research did not track U.S. legislation. Most (15 of 22) countries or regions with enacted legislation have set a date of net-zero emissions by 2050. The most ambitious deadline is set by Iceland, which has enacted legislation requiring net-zero emissions by 2040. Germany and Sweden both have set a deadline of net-zero emissions by 2045. Four countries (Ukraine, Slovenia, Malta, and Finland) do not specify dates, according to the Law Library of Congress report. The European Union and 11 of its member states (Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden) have enacted net-zero legislation. Seven of the G20 members (Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the UK) have enacted net-zero legislation.
Several bills proposing net-zero emissions goals for the United States have been introduced in recent Congresses. Discussion of legislative proposals for U.S. net-zero emissions is beyond the scope of this analysis.
Lots more to peruse - check out the rest of the report for some data tables.
Enjoy!
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