Emerging economies lead way with green light on climate COUNTRIES are pushing ahead with laws to tackle climate change, despite "snail-paced" progress on a global deal to cut emissions, it was revealed today. Almost all of the 33 developed and developing countries surveyed in a study had introduced or progressed with significant climate-related legislation in the past year. In 2012, 18 of the countries made significant progress, according to the report by the Grantham Research Institute at LSE and Globe International, which brings together legislators from different countries. Only Canada had gone backwards on climate change, by repealing the Act that implemented its targets under the Kyoto treaty to cut global emissions. Despite a tough economic year for many countries, some progress was made by developed nations. While the UK had not made substantial progress in 2012, it has a raft of climate-related legislation in place, including the 2008 Climate Change Act, and measures on energy efficiency, supporting renewables and sustainable homes. The report found the EU as a whole made progress through its new directive on energy efficiency, while the US pushed forward with regulating carbon dioxide through its Clean Air Act. Action by developing countries was more significant, with Mexico leading the way with a new climate law to cut emissions by 30 per cent compared to "business as usual" by 2020, and major progress by countries ranging from Kenya to Pakistan. China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, has begun to draft a national climate change law, while local legislation was passed in Shenzhen to manage greenhouse emissions. The report, now in its third year, was expanded to cover 33 countries, including 17 of the 20 top polluters, which account for 85 per cent of global emissions. Baron Deben, president of Globe International and chairman of the UK's Committee on Climate Change, said: "This is a game-changing development, driven by emerging economies, but taking place across each and every continent." But it was warned that the measures taken were not enough to prevent global temperatures rising more than 2C, beyond which "dangerous" climate change is predicted. Globe vice-president and Tory MP Graham Stuart said: "Progress has been much more substantial and much more widespread than people realise, but still lags the action required to meet the goal of reducing climate change to less than 2C." But showing that legislation is being enacted in a number of countries will build confidence among nations that they are not acting alone and will improve the chances of an international deal being secured, he suggested. Legislation and regulatory frameworks can never in themselves deliver what's required. What we hope is that it triggers technological and behavioural change in business and society that means we can lower emissions without crippling industry or threatening living standards at unacceptable cost.