🌍 Climate Action Monitor 2025 reveals widening gap between promises and policy
The latest OECD Climate Action Monitor 2025 lands like a thunderclap in an overheated world. Global greenhouse gas emissions from 50 OECD and partner countries are now 8% above the path required to meet 2030 pledges — equivalent to 2.5 gigatonnes of extra CO₂ pumped into the air.
The report finds governments increased the number and stringency of their climate policies by only 1% in 2024 — confirming a loss of momentum not seen since the Paris Agreement came into force.
“The benefits of climate action for our ecosystems, societies and economies are significant,” said OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann.
“Realising these benefits will require countries to step up efforts towards meeting their commitments and select an ambitious, appropriate policy mix reflecting their unique circumstances.”
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Power Gains, Transport Pains
Since 2015, OECD nations have managed to trim emissions mainly from power generation and heavy industry, driven by renewable investment and stricter efficiency standards.
But the transport sector — the lifeblood of modern economies — remains stubbornly unchanged. Cars, trucks, ships, and planes continue to belch CO₂ at 2015 levels, with little sign of decarbonisation at scale.
Partner economies such as India, China, and Indonesia have seen emissions rise, propelled by rapid economic growth and continued dependence on coal and oil.
Legal Targets: The Exception, Not the Rule
Of the 114 countries and the European Union that have adopted net-zero targets, only 30 nations plus the EU — covering just 17.7% of global emissions — have locked those targets into law.
Without such legal force, the OECD warns, political cycles and competing economic interests will keep undermining progress.
“To align with the Paris Agreement, global emissions must fall by 39% to 63% by 2035,” the report concludes. “That will not happen under the current trajectory.”
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Who’s Legally Bound to Net-Zero?
| Region / Bloc | Countries with Net-Zero in Law |
|---|---|
| Europe | Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Moldova, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, EU |
| Asia-Pacific | Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Fiji, Maldives |
| Americas & Africa | Canada, Chile, Colombia, Nigeria |
Together, these account for just 17.7% of global emissions.
Tracking the Fine Print
Behind the headlines lies the Climate Actions and Policies Measurement Framework (CAPMF) — the OECD’s vast database that monitors 87 core climate policies and 272 variables across 97 countries, covering over 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The CAPMF reveals a mixed bag: while clean-energy incentives and carbon-pricing schemes have grown, fossil-fuel subsidies and inconsistent transport policies continue to blunt their impact.
The Climate Action Monitor itself is a deliverable of the OECD’s International Programme for Action on Climate (IPAC) — the same data backbone used by the Inclusive Forum on Carbon Mitigation Approaches, which tries to harmonize carbon-reduction efforts worldwide.
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The Political Will
The OECD says climate policy now suffers from a classic case of “implementation fatigue.”
Governments have announced more targets than ever, yet enforcement, finance, and transparency lag behind.
For some countries, progress depends not on new technologies, but on political will — phasing out subsidies, rewriting transport codes, and integrating climate goals into national budgets.
Technology is racing ahead — but politics is running in circles.
It’s an irony not lost on climate observers that Mathias Cormann, once a senior figure in Australia’s conservative Coalition government — a government infamous for dragging its heels on net-zero commitments — now leads the OECD chorus calling for stronger global action.
As Secretary-General, Cormann is singing from a different hymn book, urging nations to accelerate emissions cuts and legislate climate goals.
Back home, however, many of his former political allies continue to hum the old tune of denial. Australia’s right-wing parties, still flush with donations from fossil fuel interests, cling to the fantasy of endless coal and gas prosperity, arguing to turn back the clock rather than face the science head-on.
The contrast between Cormann’s newfound zeal in Paris and the rhetoric in Canberra could not be starker — one preaches urgency, the other nostalgia.
A World Drifting Off Course
Despite grim numbers, the OECD insists the window for change remains open. Renewable energy costs continue to fall, global finance is shifting toward low-carbon portfolios, and public support for climate action remains high.
But to seize the moment, nations must move from “targets on paper” to laws with teeth — and implement them with urgency.
While the planet’s thermostat keeps rising, so too must our resolve.
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