Tracking, evaluation and comparison of climate change mitigation policies and actions from a wide range of stakeholders to support ambition-raising efforts.
Action to combat climate change is diverse. National governments, regions, cities, companies and individuals embark on the challenge to reduce emissions. We develop and apply methods to monitor climate change mitigation action and commitments between peers and evaluate collective progress towards the objective of holding global warming below 2/1.5°C.
NewClimate Institute staff has years of experience in the evaluation of mitigation commitments and policies, and analysis of their effect on emissions. We connect to policymakers, practitioners and researchers all over the world to identify best practices and provide cross national insights on strategies to keep the Paris Agreement’s long-term goal within reach.
Flagship projects include the Climate Action Tracker, Climate Change Performance Index, and global aggregation of subnational and non-state climate actions.
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Associated projects
Advancing the COMPASS toolbox to assess climate action
Under this project we have advanced NewClimate’s COMPASS suite of tools which are design to help analysts and decision makers navigate a range of climate action impacts.
NDC Design
Systematic analysis Return to all expertise and projects As part of the Paris Agreement, countries are mandated to update and enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) every five years—increasing their ambition with every cycle. The first round of NDCs were submitted starting in 2015 and countries have submitted or are finalising their updates for the… Read More
Horizon 2020 ENGAGE
The EU-funded ENGAGE project will invite key stakeholders to co-produce a new generation of global and national decarbonisation pathways. These will be designed to mitigate the risks of climate change to meet the Paris Agreement objectives and implement game-changing innovations.
Implications of the decrease of RES-E and battery cost projections for the revision of the NDCs of Argentina, Mexico and Indonesia
Key mitigation technologies, i.e. renewable power generation and battery technologies, are substantially cheaper now than projected in 2015. This project investigates the potential impact of these investment cost reductions for three countries: Argentina, Mexico, and Indonesia.
Climate Action Tracker – Scaling Up Climate Action
In a consortium with Climate Analytics and Ecofys, NewClimate Institute contributes to the Climate Action Tracker’s Scaling Up Climate Action country series. The first round of our analysis covers South Africa, the European Union, Indonesia, Turkey, Argentina, and Australia.
Climate Action Tracker – Climate Governance Series
Developing a framework for assessing countries’ readiness to implement ambitious climate policy.
Climate Change Performance Index
The Climate Change Performance Index is an instrument to enhance transparency in international climate politics. It aims to encourage countries which have, up to now, failed to take ambitious actions on climate protection as well as to highlight countries with best-practice climate policies.
Pathways and entry points to 1.5 °C (PEP1p5)
The project aims to develop a scientific and policy relevant assessment of the long-term goal to limit global temperature increase to 1.5°C in the Paris Agreement.
Analysing the aggregate impact of global non-state and subnational climate action
NewClimate Institute is analysing the aggregate impact of non-state and subnational actors (cities, regions and businesses) around the world on greenhouse gas emissions.
Implementation of future GHG mitigation goals: Framework conditions and transformative challenges in selected focus countries
In this project NewClimate together with Wuppertal Institute has compiled and analysed quantitative and qualitative information on climate protective policies and actions as well as future options for deeper emission cuts in Ethiopia, Georgia, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Colombia, Morocco, the Marshall Islands, Peru and Vietnam.
Climate Action Tracker – Decarbonisation Module
In a consortium with Climate Analytics and Ecofys, NewClimate Institute contributes to the “Climate Action Tracker” (CAT) Data Portal which is a database of decarbonisation indicators on sector- and country-level for over 30 countries.
The Non-state and Subnational Action Guide
Our Non-State and Subnational Action Guide facilitates the integration of the impacts of actions by entities such as states, regions, cities, and businesses into national GHG projections and mitigation assessments.
What the Paris Agreement means for climate action in the Netherlands
The aim of this brief analysis was to translate the goals of the international climate regime as determined by the Paris Agreement into the context of the Netherlands.
The potential of business initiatives in emission reduction
For this We Mean Business report in partnership with CDP, NewClimate Institute experts were responsible for the quantitative assessments of the individual initiatives‘ contribution to emission reduction, and the calculation of aggregated emission reductions under various scenarios of business initiative growth.
What the Paris Agreement means for Germany’s climate action
The aim of this brief analysis was to translate the goals of the international climate regime as determined by the Paris Agreement into the German context.
Climate Transparency
Climate Transparency is an open global consortium with a shared mission to stimulate a ‘race to the top’ in climate action through enhanced transparency. For this purpose, comprehensive, comparable and credible information about government climate action is spread by bringing together the most important actors in assessing and communicating climate action for the benefit of key influencers and decision makers.
International Cooperative Initiatives (ICIs) outside the UNFCCC
Evaluation of the impact of global, regional and national initiatives outside UNFCCC on greenhouse gas emissions. The German Environmental Agency (UBA) commissioned a consortium of NewClimate Institute, Öko-Institut and Fraunhofer ISI to analyse the impact of international, regional and national initiatives outside the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on greenhouse gas emissions.… Read More
Mitigation impacts of energy efficiency and renewable energy actions under the One Gigaton Coalition
Quantifying GHG emission reductions resulting from renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives and programmes in developing countries. NewClimate Institute, together with Yale University, has set up a comprehensive framework to quantify the impact of energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) actions in developing countries that are attributable to the One Gigaton Coalition. The One… Read More
Climate Policy Database
The Climate Policy Database is a collaborative effort to track policy adoption and identify global and national policy coverage gaps. We identify, categorise and analyse mitigation-relevant policies to support national ambition raising efforts. Return to all expertise and projects Raising the ambition of action against climate change is urgent. Countries adopt a wide range of… Read More
The contribution of energy efficiency to reducing the cost of decarbonisation
How can energy efficiency policies lower the costs of decarbonisation?
How much more could Germany achieve through non-state action?
Quantifying the possible contribution of International Cooperative Initiatives to the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in Germany
UNEP Emissions Gap Reports
Since 2010, UNEP synthesises information on the gap between current trend in greenhouse gas emissions and where they would have to be in order to stabilise global temperature increase below internationally agreed levels. Today the Emissions Gap Report series is one of the flagship publications of UNEP.
Assessment of progress in policy implementation and emissions scenario analysis for major emitting economies
Together with PBL and IIASA, we provide analyses on the progress of major emitting countries towards their mitigation targets and on various enhanced action scenarios to fill the emissions gap between likely emissions pathways and the pathways consistent with the Paris Agreement’s long-term temperature goal.
Mitigation responsibilities under a 2015 international climate agreement
Analysis of options for mitigation commitments post-2020 under the new international climate agreement to be finalised in 2015. Return to all expertise and projects A new international climate agreement was finalised in 2015. It entered into force in 2020 and includes – besides other aspects such as finance and adaptation- mitigation commitments for all countries.… Read More
Climate Action Tracker
Climate Action Tracker provides regularly updated information on countries’ emission reduction policies. It reflects the latest status of the progress being made at international climate negotiations on mitigation commitments. Return to all expertise and projects The Climate Action Tracker is a science-based assessment that provides regularly updated information on countries’ emission reduction proposals and policies.… Read More
Further reading
Publication in Nature Climate Change: Wave of net zero emission targets opens window to meeting the Paris Agreement Sep 2021 - This article published in "Nature Climate Change" analyses the recent wave of national net zero targets showing that there is significant momentum which could bring the temperature limit of the Paris Agreement within reach. 
Climate Action Tracker Global update: Climate target updates slow as science ramps up need for action Sep 2021 - This briefing provides an overview of the development in climate action over the last year and illustrates the new CAT assessment of the countries we analyse, based on our updated method.
National ‘fair shares’ in reducing greenhouse gas emissions within the principled framework of international environmental law Sep 2021 - This Climate Policy journal article introduces a conceptual framework to assess the progress, implementation, and impact of climate action by sub- and non-state actors.
NDC Design Jul 2021 - We evaluate the NDCs along key elements that are critical for the success of the NDC ambition cycle: 1. Increased mitigation ambition; 2. Comprehensiveness; 3. Implementation plan; and 4. Transparency.
Global climate action from cities, regions and businesses – 2021 Jun 2021 - This report is the third and the latest edition of the series since 2018 that take stock of climate action by cities, regions and businesses and their global aggregate impact on greenhouse gas emissions. The 2021 edition focuses on the progress of non-state and subnational actors toward their emissions reduction targets.
Greenhouse gas emission scenarios in nine key non-G20 countries: An assessment of progress toward 2030 climate targets Jun 2021 - This study compares greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions projections in 2030 under current policies and those under 2030 mitigation targets for nine key non-G20 countries, that collectively account for about 5 % of global total emissions today. These include the four largest non-G20 fossil CO2 emitting Parties to the UN climate convention pre-Paris Agreement (Iran, Kazakhstan, Thailand and Ukraine) and one of the largest land-use GHG emitters in the world (Democratic Republic of the Congo).
The Challenges of Assessing “Collective Progress”: Design Options for an effective Global Stocktake process under the UNFCCC May 2021 - This paper examines the questions of what an effective Global Stocktake process would look like, and what information and data are needed to support it.
Climate Action Tracker Global update: Climate Summit Momentum May 2021 - Climate action announcements at US President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate, together with those announced since September last year, have improved the Climate Action Tracker’s warming estimate by 0.2°C. End of century warming from these Paris Agreement pledges and targets is now estimated to be 2.4°C.
A review of successful climate change mitigation policies in major emitting economies and the potential of global replication Jan 2021 - This journal article in ‘Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews’ looks at climate change mitigation policies in five major emitting economies and the potential of global replication of sectors’ progress.
Decreasing costs of renewables in Argentina (two reports) Dec 2020 - The research looks at how cost reductions for renewable energy technologies impact energy planning and climate policy in Argentina, including in the NDC process.