30 November 2018; London, UK: State and regional governments are responding to the threat of climate change faster than their national counterparts, according to a new report released today ahead of COP24 by The Climate Group, CDP and PwC UK.

Leading states and regions have committed to decarbonize at a rate of 6.2% a year. This is just 0.2% away from the decarbonization rate needed to align with a 2°C pathway – far more ambitious than national governments. Subnational action is on the increase, with the number of states and regions disclosing their climate data growing from 44 governments in 2015 to 120 states and regions today across 32 countries.

The findings come ahead of the Conference of the Parties in Katowice, Poland (COP24) next week, where states, regions, cities, and businesses are calling for national governments to step up their ambition following the example set by the commitments made at the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) in September.

Of the 120 state and regional governments, 40% are already reporting actions across both mitigation and adaptation to climate change –  the combination of which is vital, according to the latest IPCC science, to achieve the accelerated transition to a 1.5°C world. Since the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015, the number of adaptation actions reported by states and regions has increased by 74%.

A total of 265 targets for emissions reductions, renewable energy and energy efficiency have been disclosed. 80% of these targets were from governments in the Under2 Coalition, the largest global coalition of states and regions committed to acting now on climate change.

The targets disclosed by states and regions demonstrate ambitious action in line with the 2°C pathway of the Paris Agreement. The new science of this Autumn’s IPCC Special Report however means the states and regions’ targets do fall short of the new 1.5°C recommendation.