Which Countries Did Not Sign The Paris Climate Agreement

A global failure to meet the NDCs currently set out in the agreement could reduce global GDP by more than 25% by the end of the century. At the same time, another study estimates that achieving – or even exceeding – the Paris targets through infrastructure investments in clean energy and energy efficiency could have huge global benefits – around $19 trillion. NDCs become NDCs – Nationally Determined Contributions – once a country formally joins the agreement. There are no specific requirements on how countries should reduce their emissions or to what extent, but there have been political expectations about the nature and severity of individual countries` targets. As a result, national plans vary considerably in scope and ambition, largely reflecting each country`s capacities, level of development and contribution to emissions over time. China, for example, has pledged to level its CO2 emissions by 2030 at the latest and reduce CO2 emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 60 to 65 percent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. India has set a target of reducing emissions intensity by 33-35% from 2005 levels by 2030 and producing 40% of its electricity from non-fossil sources. We owe no excuse to other nations for our environmental responsibility. Even before the signing of the Paris Agreement, America had reduced its carbon footprint to the levels of the early 1990s.

In fact, between 2000 and 2014, the United States reduced its carbon emissions by more than 18%.