As North Americans sweat through another hotter-than-average summer, observers are asking, “How close are the nations to meeting the emissions reduction goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement?”
China is “the leading driver of renewable energy deployment, with record-breaking investments in solar, wind, and electric vehicles,” according to a recent report from the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), an economic think-tank. “China’s total emissions stood at 15.3 GtCO2e, but they may peak already in 2025 as its coal consumption is expected to decrease. Its success in transitioning toward carbon neutrality will significantly shape global emissions trends, making it a key determinant of whether net zero remains within reach.”
By comparison, the United States, which emitted 5.5 GtCO2e in the same time period, appears headed away from carbon neutrality. “The recent policy shift under the Trump administration has put the country’s decarbonization trajectory in jeopardy. The announced withdrawal from the Paris Agreement in 2025, along with an emphasis on fossil fuel expansion under the ‘energy dominance’ doctrine, is bound to slow down progress.”
These assessments and others appear in the report “Global Action Without Global Governance: Building Coalitions For Climate Transition And Nature Restoration” published on July 1, 2025, by the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). The report was launched online with a webinar on July 9, 2025.
The Centre for Economic Policy Research is a London-based European network of almost 1,900 research economists based mostly in European universities, founded in 1983. (Not to be confused with the Washington, D.C.-based CEPR). ♠️
Click here to download the CEPR report “Paris Report 3 – Global action without global governance.”
Click here to view the CEPR launch video of four contributors discussing “Paris Report 3.”