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Press release from the Climate Action Tracker If all coal plants in the pipeline were to be built, by 2030, emissions from coal power would be 400% higher than what is consistent with a 2˚C pathway, according to a new analysis released by the Climate Action Tracker (CAT) at the Paris Climate Summit today. Even with no new construction, in 2030, emissions from coal-fired power generation would still be more than 150% higher than what is consistent with holding warming below 2˚C. Using data from Coal Swarm’s updated Global Coal Plant Tracker, (1) the CAT has calculated the effect on global...

Activities by cities, regions, business and sectors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are numerous and help to fulfil national emission reductions targets. Download full report Cologne, 25 November 2015: Commitments by non-state actors (cities, regions, business and sectors) further reduce German greenhouse gas emissions beyond what is implied by current policies. This is found by new research undertaken by NewClimate Institute supported by Stiftung Mercator. For the first time, this study quantifies whether and to which extent these activities go beyond what governments have already agreed...

The executive board of Wageningen University has appointed NewClimate Institute’s founding partner Niklas Höhne as special Professor ‘Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases’. This part time appointment for one day a week starts on 15 November and will last for five years. Prof. Dr. Niklas Höhne will be part of the chair group Environmental Systems Analyses of Prof. Dr. Rik Leemans. The chair is funded by the NewClimate Institute, where he will continue to work. With the appointment Höhne extends his academic career, which builds on an extensive track record of academic publications, including a paper...

The updated results of NewClimate Institute’s research to track the preparation of INDCs are now published. View the results All countries have been asked to present an emissions reduction proposal, which would ultimately be included in a new international climate agreement in December 2015. 119 submissions, representing 147 Parties, were received by 02 October 2015, representing over 85% of total global GHG emissions. Details of these submissions will be documented in the UNFCCC’s synthesis report, which will be made available to Parties in time for the 21 st Conference of Parties in Paris...

Press release from the Climate Action Tracker The combination of Government climate action plans, if implemented, would bring global warming down to 2.7°C, according to an analysis released today by the Climate Action Tracker (CAT). Read the full analysis from the Climate Action Tracker On the day of the October 1 UN deadline for governments to submit their emission reduction targets, or Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) for 2025 and 2030, the CAT’s estimate of their impact on warming shows that, if fully implemented, they would bring warming down to 2.7°C – an improvement...

The updated results of NewClimate Institute’s research to track the preparation of INDCs are now published. View the results All countries have been asked to present an emissions reduction proposal, which would ultimately be included in a new international climate agreement in December 2015. 29 submissions (including the EU with 28 member states) were received by September 2015, representing over 60% of total global GHG emissions. An implicit submission deadline is 01 October 2015, after which submissions are still allowed but will not be included in the UNFCCC’s synthesis report, which will...

Government climate action would see warming well beyond 2˚C The climate targets so far submitted to the UN by governments collectively lead to global emissions far above the levels needed to hold warming to below 2°C, the Climate Action Tracker said today. The analysis by the consortium of four research organisations was released today in Bonn where Governments are meeting for the second to last week of negotiations ahead of Paris. Around 65% of global emissions are covered by the “Intended Nationally Determined Contributions” (INDCs) submitted by 29 Governments as of 1 September 2015. The CAT...

Corporate climate action is increasingly considered important in driving the transition towards a low-carbon economy. For this, it is critical to ensure translation of global goals to greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets at company level. At the moment, however, there is a lack of clear methods to derive consistent corporate target setting that keeps cumulative corporate GHG emissions within a specific carbon budget (for example, 550–1,300 GtCO2 between 2011 and 2050 for the 2°C target) . Here the authors propose a method for corporate emissions target setting that derives carbon...

Press release Climate Action Tracker: China’s climate targets for Paris are conflicted China’s new climate plans announced this week for the Paris Climate Agreement are conflicted, the Climate Action Tracker (CAT) said today. See the full assessment of China's INDC China’s non-fossil primary energy target, actions to reduce coal use and wide range of other actions are set to make a major step toward a below 2 oC pathway. However, one element – the proposed carbon intensity target - is much weaker than all the other elements put together and would be consistent with a warming of 3-4 oC. This...

Press release from the Climate Action Tracker: Japan can almost reach its proposed - and “inadequate” - INDC - target without taking any further action, the Climate Action Tracker (CAT) said today. In the wake of the G7 decisions to decarbonise their economies, Japan appears to be heading in the opposite direction. Read the briefing from the Climate Action Tracker Japan’s draft INDC includes an emissions reduction target of 26% below 2013 emission levels by 2030, (equivalent to 18% below 1990 levels by 2030). Japan intends to use forestry accounting and its overseas crediting mechanism to meet...

A week after the Climate Action Tracker announced that Canada's submitted INDC provided an "inadequate" contribution to global climate change mitigation efforts, new analysis by NewClimate Institute shows that Canada's reduced ambition misses out on a number of significant potential benefits for energy security, reduced premature deaths from air pollution, and job creation in the renewable energy sector. See the assessment of co-benefit potential for Canada See the full Climate Action Tracker assessment of Canada's INDC This analysis was published on Monday 8th June in a larger report...

New analysis by NewClimate Institute shows that whilst Japan's draft INDC achieves a significant amount of benefits for the economy and the domestic population through cost savings and reduced deaths from air pollution, the scale of the potential benefits from more ambitious action that are missed by the limited ambition of the draft INDC is much greater. By 2030, Japan could achieve and annual cost savings of around USD 25 billion, could save approximately 15,000 premature deaths each year from reduced ambient air pollution, and could support an extra 67,000 full time equivalent jobs in the...

Press release from the Climate Action Tracker: The combined climate plans for the G7 and EU have made a small step towards the right track to hold warming to 2°C, but there is still a substantial emissions gap, the Climate Action Tracker said today. Ahead of the upcoming G7 meeting in Germany, the Climate Action Tracker - an analysis carried out by four research organisations including NewClimate Institute - has looked at the combined INDCs of all G7 governments and the EU, who are responsible, in aggregate, for around 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 40% of global GDP. Read the full...

The updated results of NewClimate Institute’s research to track the preparation of INDCs are now published. View the results As delegates gather in Bonn for the UNFCCC climate change conference, a new wave of submissions of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to the UNFCCC’s INDC portal are expected to be announced during the course of the two-week negotiations. By the end of June, approximately 58% of global GHG emissions are expected to be covered by submissions, as revealed in the latest update of research from NewClimate Institute. All countries have been asked to present...

Press release from the Climate Action Tracker: Under its INDC, Canada proposes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% below 2005 levels in 2030. This translates to a 21% reduction below 2005 emissions levels excluding forestry, or 2% below 1990 levels. Read the briefing from the Climate Action Tracker See the full assessment of Canada's INDC Canada accounts for 10% of the world’s forests. Current projections indicate that it is likely to generate substantial emissions credits in 2030 from activities in the forestry sector. Using forestry credits, it could avoid reducing emissions from other...