Washington DC - Efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius are "lagging significantly" behind the pace and scale needed to address the climate crisis, according to new research released on Tuesday.

World leaders agreed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels to avoid the worst impacts of climate change at the United Nations climate conference in Paris in 2015.

The State of Climate Action report found that across 42 indicators assessed, only one – the share of electric vehicles in passenger car sales – was on track to reach its 2030 target derived from the Paris agreement.

"Despite decades of dire warnings and wake-up calls, our leaders have largely failed to mobilize climate action anywhere near the pace and scale needed," lead author Sophie Boehm said.

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"There’s no time left to tinker at the edges. Instead, we need immediate, transformational changes across every single sector this decade."

The report said the share of solar and wind energy needed to increase by an average of 24% per year. It is currently increasing 14% per year.

Fossil fuel phase out needed to increase sevenfold, the report said. But government subsidies for oil, gas, and coal nearly doubled from 2020 to 2021.

Report author Claire Fyson, from Climate Analytics, said it was "absurd" to continue investing heavily in gas and coal power.

The report was a joint effort of the Bezos Earth Fund, Climate Action Tracker, ClimateWorks Foundation, the United Nations Climate Change High-Level Champions, and World Resources Institute.