World behind on almost every policy required to cut carbon emissions, research finds

Bełchatów power station in Poland pumps out more than 30m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. Photograph: Kuba Stężycki/Reuters

Coal must be phased out seven times faster than is now happening, deforestation must be reduced four times faster, and public transport around the world built out six times faster than at present, if the world is to avoid the worst impacts of climate breakdown, new research has found.

Countries are falling behind on almost every policy required to cut greenhouse gas emissions, despite progress on renewable energy and the uptake of electric vehicles.