"Less than a week before the United Nations deadline for countries to file greenhouse-gas pledges necessary to keep a global climate change deal on track, it looks like most of the world is missing in action.

Ahead of the March 31 target, only the European Union and Switzerland have unveiled plans, representing about 10 percent of global emissions. The U.S. has promised to hit the deadline. The rest of the world’s major economies, including China, India, Australia and Japan, are unlikely to complete submissions in time, according to environmental groups tracking UN climate talks.

More than 190 nations are scheduled to meet in Paris in December to craft an international deal aimed at slowing global warming. Countries may be holding off on individual plans as long as possible to see what others are doing and to shrink the time for negotiation on their own programs, suggested Wai-Shin Chan, a strategist at HSBC Holdings Plc."

Alex Nussbaum and Alex Morales report for Bloomberg News March 24, 2015. [2]