Two years after the announcement of ambitious climate commitments at Cop26 in Glasgow, Climate Home News analyzes how these pledges are faring. One key commitment was to reduce human-made methane emissions by 30% between 2020 and 2030. However, concentrations of methane in the atmosphere have continued to rise, and some of the world’s top emitters, such as China, India, and Russia, have not joined the coalition. While progress has been made on the regulatory front, with the US and EU introducing new rules to address methane emissions in the oil and gas sector, there is still a long way to go to achieve the targets.
Another commitment focused on ending and reversing deforestation by 2030. Despite over 140 countries joining the coalition, deforestation rates have actually increased, with global deforestation growing 4% in 2022. While tropical Asian countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia are on track to meet their targets, Latin America and the Caribbean are farthest off track. Efforts to create a regional forest protection coalition at the Amazon summit in August failed, highlighting the challenges in achieving global forest conservation goals.
Overall, it is clear that these climate commitments are facing significant challenges in their implementation. While there have been some positive developments in terms of regulations and initiatives, the continued rise in methane concentrations and increased deforestation rates indicate that more action is needed. Further efforts, collaboration, and funding will be necessary to address these issues and meet the ambitious goals set at Cop26.
