US nears climate plan submission

The United States will submit a plans for reducing emissions to the United Nations early this week, but most governments will miss the informal March 31 deadline, complicating work on December's global climate deal target.

The US submission, which will be made on Monday or Tuesday, according to a White House official, adds to the national strategies beyond 2020 already presented by the 28-nation European Union, Mexico, Switzerland and Norway.

Together, the countries account for about one-third of world's greenhouse emissions. Other emitters, including China, India, Russia, Brazil, Canada and Australia, say they're waiting to get closer to December's Paris summit.

"It's not the ideal situation," said Niklas Hoehne, founding partner of the New Climate Institute in Germany, which tracks submissions, known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions.

In 2013, the United Nations invited INDCs to be submitted by March 31 this year - by governments "ready to do so". The early, informal deadline was meant to give time to compare pledges and toughen weak ones.

Late submissions complicate the Paris summit because it will be far harder to judge late INDCs.

"The earlier the better," said Jake Schmidt, of the US National Resources Defense Council. "It allows people to look at each others' targets and judge whether or not they pass muster."

The United States and China outlined plans last year. The US plans to cut emissions by 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.

It's already clear that INDCs will fall short of emissions cuts needed to limit temperatures to 2 C above preindustrial times, a UN ceiling to avert floods, desertification, and rising seas, the secretariat said.

(China Daily 03/30/2015 page11)