A new analysis by Climate Action Tracker reveals that, although the UK is getting close, no country is making sufficient progress towards transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

The analysis sets benchmarks for fossil gas, coal, and renewable energy shares in the power sector and assesses the progress of countries including Australia, Brazil, China, the EU27, India, Japan, the UK, and the US.

The results indicate that none of the countries examined have explicit plans to phase out fossil gas, and the fossil gas pipeline currently exceeds that of coal.

While developed nations are encouraged to aim for the upper end of benchmarking ranges, the UK is the only one on track to meet this goal.

The UK is expected to eliminate coal usage by 2024, aligning with the 1.5°C target timeline.

Both the US and the UK have set 2035 power sector decarbonization objectives aligned with the phase-out of unabated fossil gas, but further action is needed to achieve these goals.

Globally, most countries are not making adequate progress in transitioning to renewable energy sources, with China's continued approval of coal plants causing emissions concerns. Japan and Mexico are also lagging behind in this transition.

The UAE's focus on emissions phase-out rather than specific fossil fuel targets poses challenges, especially as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is expected to play a minimal role in fossil gas power and none in coal.

In the UK, despite progress in reducing emissions from power generation, the lack of a credible overall strategy for full sector decarbonization by 2035 remains a significant challenge. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has called for a comprehensive long-term strategy outlining the role of low-carbon flexibility options like demand flexibility, storage, hydrogen, gas CCS, and interconnection capacity to reach the 2035 goal.