- 1Tsinghua University, Department of Earth System Science, China
- 2The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, University College London, London, UK
- 3Integrated Research on Energy, Environment and Society, Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
- 4Department of Economics, Faculty of Business and Social Sciences, Kingston University London, London, UK
- 5Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK
- 6School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
Many economies set climate mitigation targets for 2020 at the 2009 15th Conference of the Parties conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen. Yet no retrospective review of the implementation and actual mitigation associated with these targets has materialized. Here we track the national CO2 emissions from both territory and consumption (trade adjusted) perspectives to assess socioeconomic factors affecting changes in emissions. Among the 34 countries analysed, 12 failed to meet their targets (among them Portugal, Spain and Japan) and 7 achieved the target for territorial emissions, albeit with carbon leakage through international trade to meet domestic demand while increasing emissions in other countries. Key factors in meeting targets were intensity reduction of energy and the improvement of the energy mix. However, many countries efforts fell short of their latest nationally determined contributions. Timely tracking and review of mitigation efforts are critical for meeting the Paris Agreement targets.
How to cite: Li, S., Meng, J., Hubacek, K., Eskander, S., Li, Y., Chen, P., and Guan, D.: Revisiting Copenhagen climate mitigation targets, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-3269, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-3269, 2025.
