Why is the Gambia the world’s ‘climate leader’?

Tiny west African nation is only country on track to meet Paris climate agreement targets, new research reveals. By Harry Cockburn

The fishing village of Tanji, in the Gambia

(Getty)

Six years after it was signed into existence, only one country in the entire world is currently on track to meet the demands of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

That country is the Gambia in west Africa, which also happens to be the continent’s smallest mainland country.

According to research compiled by Climate Action Tracker (Cat), the Gambia is the only one where official government action, alongside its internationally supported targets, are compatible with keeping global average temperature rises below 1.5C since the pre-industrial era.