UN Urges Countries to Submit Overdue Climate Action Plans

The United Nations has called on countries that are late in submitting their climate action plans to do so without further delay, warning that major polluters remain among dozens yet to provide updated commitments.

Under the Paris Agreement, nearly 200 countries were expected to submit revised national climate plans by February, outlining stronger emissions reduction targets for 2035 and detailed strategies for achieving them. However, only a few countries met the original deadline. Six months later, China, India, and the European Union are still among the largest economies yet to present their revised plans.

In a letter to nations behind schedule, UN climate chief Simon Stiell stressed that these plans are not merely symbolic. “These national climate plans are much more than words on paper; they are among this century’s most powerful engines of economic growth and rising living standards, and the cornerstone of humanity’s fight against the global climate crisis,” he wrote.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is preparing a comprehensive review of all new climate commitments, which will be published ahead of COP30, the annual UN climate summit in Brazil this November. Plans submitted by the end of September will be included in this critical update on global climate action.

Stiell also encouraged world leaders to use the opportunity of a special climate event on September 24, held during the UN General Assembly in New York, to announce and showcase their new policies.

According to UNFCCC tracking, approximately 190 countries plan to submit revisions this year. Roughly 30, including major economies such as Brazil, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada, have already done so. The United States has submitted a plan, although it is widely considered largely symbolic, as it was prepared before the Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The slow pace of global submissions has highlighted a waning focus on climate action, with many nations distracted by rising security challenges, economic tensions, and international trade disputes.

Collectively, these national climate plans form the backbone of efforts to meet the Paris Agreement’s central goal: limiting global temperature increases to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Current trends, however, indicate the world is on track for closer to 3°C of warming. To achieve safer levels, global emissions must nearly halve by the end of the decade.

The UN’s call for urgent submissions underscores the critical need for coordinated international action to tackle the accelerating climate crisis while aligning economic development with environmental sustainability.