Which Countries Have Signed Carbon Pledges? The U.N. Discredits Them, Saying "Try Harder"
Mar. 3 2021, Updated 12:51 p.m. ET
At this point, numerous countries worldwide have signed "carbon pledges," vowing to lower their long-term environmental impacts. But the U.N.'s climate chief, Patricia Espinosa, has called out these nations and discredited their efforts, according to NBC News, saying they need to reevaluate their vision, and try a little harder to lower their emissions short-term.
Which countries have signed carbon pledges? We've compiled a list of nations that have vowed to lower their impact, and ultimately need to "do better" in order to meet global climate goals.
121 countries have joined the Climate Ambition Alliance.
The Climate Ambition Alliance aims to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050, per Global Climate Action, and is leading the Race to Zero campaign. These countries have signed the pledge:
- Afghanistan
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Austria
- Bahamas
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cabo Verde
- Cambodia
- Canada
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Cook Islands
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Denmark
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- Gambia
- Germany
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Kiribati
- Lao People's Democratic Republic
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Lituania
- Luxembourg
- Madagasgar
- Malawi
- Maldives
- Mali
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Monaco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Niue
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Peru
- Portugal
- Romania
- Rwanda
- St. Kitts
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent
- Samoa
- Sao Tome
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sudan
- Suriname
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tonga
- Trinidad & Tobago
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- U.K.
- U.R. of Tanzania
- Uruguay
- Vanuatu
- Yemen
- Zambia
Countries that have pledged net zero carbon emissions:
Climate Home created a "more official" list of countries that have committed to carbon neutrality through a "winning political manifesto, government statement, policy paper, climate law, submission to the U.N. or other nationally determined document." Some have submitted to achieve these goals as soon as 2030, and others are aiming to do so by 2050. Check out which nations have made the cut with supposedly more accredited efforts:
- Argentina
- Austria
- Brazil
- Bhutan
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Denmark
- E.U.
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Grenada
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Japan
- Maldives
- Marshall Islands
- Nepal
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Panama
- Portugal
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- U.K.
- U.S.
- Uruguay
Which countries have joined the Paris Climate Agreement?
A total of 194 nations have joined the Paris Climate Agreement, but as per NBC News, we will have to cut down emissions 45 percent below what they were in 2010 globally, to achieve the agreement's stricter goals, and to prevent the planet from warming by .5 degrees Fahrenheit. These countries have signed the Paris Climate Agreement as of February 2021:
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Andorra
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Australia
- Azerbaijan
- The Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Bosnia
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Congo Democratic Republic
- Cook Islands
- Costa Rica
- Cote D'Ivoire
- Croatia
- Cuba
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- East Timor
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Estonia
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- E.U.
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mali
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Niue
- North Korea
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Palestine
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
- St. Kitts
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Sao Tomé
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Sinapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- South Africa
- South Korea
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Suriname
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Tanzania
- Tajikistan
- Thailand
- Togo
- Tonga
- Trinidad
- Tunisia
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- U.K.
- U.S.
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Which countries haven't joined the Paris Climate Accord?
A number of countries have not yet ratified the Paris Climate Accord, whether it's due to government struggles or a heavy reliance on oil exports. Former president, Donald Trump, withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord at the end of last year, but Biden thankfully rejoined immediately after becoming president. That said, per Climate Home News, these countries have yet to ratify the Paris Climate Agreement:
- Turkey
- Iran
- Iraq
- Libya
- Yemen
- Eritrea
Are any countries carbon-negative, as of February 2021?
As of February 2021, according to GVI, the only carbon-negative country is Bhutan. The South Asian country is protected by the government and has very limited amounts of tourists to lower national emissions, and it preserves its tree coverage, absorbing about 7 million tons of CO2 annually, while only producing 2 million tons. The country also exports renewable hydroelectric power generated from rivers.
Bhutan officially embarked on its environmental agenda in 2009, after the U.N. Climate Change Conference, where it promised to become carbon negative. It officially banned log exports, curbed deforestation, shifted to hydroelectric power, and provided free electricity to farmers. That said, the country has plans to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and it seems like they're well on their way.
