Seth Borenstein: Most major nations lag in acting on climate-fighting goals

Other countries and the United Nations can pressure countries with the highest carbon emissions to set goals, but enacting laws and rules is a tougher sell, writes Seth Borenstein

Emissions of heat-trapping gases don’t stop at national borders, nor does the extreme weather that’s being felt throughout the northern hemisphere. Picture: Philippe Lopez/Pool Photo via AP

For most of the major carbon-polluting nations, promising to fight climate change is a lot easier than actually doing it. In the United States, President Joe Biden has learned that the hard way.

Among the 10 biggest carbon emitters, only the European Union has enacted polices close to or consistent with international goals of limiting warming to just a few more tenths of a degrees, according to scientists and experts who track climate action in countries.