climateactiontracker.org

What It Is

Climate Action Tracker (CAT) is an independent scientific project jointly run by Climate Analytics and the NewClimate Institute. Since 2009, it has tracked government climate action and assessed whether it aligns with the Paris Agreement goal of keeping warming “well below 2°C” and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. It is more of a professional research and data platform in the climate policy field than a commercial SaaS product.

Core Features

CAT covers 34 countries and the EU, representing about 85% of global emissions. The site provides a global “thermometer,” emissions pathways, emissions gaps, historical progress, 2035 climate target tracking, net-zero target credibility assessments, and country-page ratings. Its ratings are broken down across dimensions such as fair share, modelled domestic emissions reduction pathways, policy action, NDC targets, climate finance, land use and forestry, and net-zero targets. The Data Explorer is useful for centrally querying country ratings, emissions analyses, and sector indicators.

Pricing

The platform does not display any commercial fees or paid subscriptions. Reports, news, methodologies, and data tools are all made publicly available as public-interest research. Funding comes from foundations and government support, including Germany’s International Climate Initiative, ClimateWorks Foundation, European Climate Foundation, and others.

Pros and Cons

Its strengths are its strong scientific basis, transparent methodology, coverage of major emitters, and ability to translate national commitments into global temperature outcomes, making it highly valuable for policy research and media citations. It also continuously updates on frontier topics such as COPs, NDCs, 2035 targets, fossil fuel phase-out, and power sector transition.

The downside is that the content has a relatively high professional threshold. General users may need background knowledge to understand concepts such as “fair share,” “modelled domestic pathways,” and “LULUCF.” Country coverage is not comprehensive, and some pages may have updated text while rating data still comes from a previous assessment round, so dates must be checked carefully when citing.

Who It’s For

It is best suited for climate policy researchers, think tanks, NGOs, media organizations, international organizations, sustainability teams, energy transition analysts, and university students. If you only want basic climate science education, CAT may feel somewhat hardcore; if you need to compare national targets and evaluate policies, it is very useful.

Access in China

Judging from the site’s format, it is a standard English-language public-interest research website, with no apparent login requirement or heavy reliance on complex interactive features. Direct access from mainland China is expected to work, though loading speed and externally embedded resources may be affected by the local network environment.