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The report based its investigation on the fact that to meet the Paris Agreement’s long-term temperature limit, the global energy system must completely decarbonise by mid-century. The Climate Action Tracker examined the trends driving decarbonisation in three key sectors of the global energy system: power, transportation, and buildings—and looked at what can drive rapid transitions in these areas. Key findings: Power Between 2006 and 2015 installed wind power capacity increased by 600 percent, and solar energy capacity increased by 3500 percent. By 2030, solar PV is projected to become the...

“2020: The Climate Turning Point” - the campaign will highlight why the 2020 turning point is necessary, and importantly how it can be realistically achieved, thanks to exponentially growing climate action. The new report, a collaboration between Yale University , Carbon Tracker and Climate Action Tracker (a consortium of Ecofys, New Climate Institute and Climate Analytics), with a contribution by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research , summarises the most up to date scientific basis for urgent action to reduce carbon emissions and provides a roadmap of action to 2020. What needs...

In a consortium led by the Finnish consultancy GAIA and with the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) , NewClimate Institute carried out a study on behalf of the Nordic Working Group for Global Climate Negotiations (NOAK) to identify how Nordic finance institutions can best contribute to mobilising climate finance to developing countries in a way that supports the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The study mapped current financial support needs communicated through developing countries’ Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to identify potential support gaps where Nordic...

One of the most fundamental questions surrounding the new Paris Agreement is whether countries’ proposals to reduce GHG emissions after 2020 are equally ambitious, considering differences in circumstances between countries. We review a variety of approaches to assess the ambition of the GHG emission reduction proposals by countries. The approaches are applied illustratively to the mitigation part of the post-2020 climate proposals (nationally determined contributions, or NDCs) by China, the EU, and the US. The analysis reveals several clear trends, even though the results differ per individual...

This new report explores the potential of seven innovative climate finance options to meet the financing needs of the Adaptation Fund. It concludes that if implemented in a collective manner, these can provide a steady and predictable stream of finance for the Fund. However, the Adaptation Fund Board needs to proactively engage with relevant decision makers, following a dynamic resource mobilisation strategy. Potential engagement pathways for each option are discussed as well. The publication is authored by NewClimate Institute and Germanwatch and supported by the International Climate...

The Paris Agreement includes Article 6 with several provisions, which allow for the use of the international carbon market. In this paper, Cooperative Approaches (CA, Art. 6.2-3) and the Mechanism for Sustainable Development and Mitigation (MSDM, Art. 6.4-7) will be considered as the market mechanisms, which constitute the basis of the international carbon market under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The purpose of this paper is to identify the main goals and aims of the international carbon market, take into account the general context and environment for...

The Climate Action Tracker today spelt out ten important, short-term steps that key sectors need to take to help the world achieve the Paris Agreement’s 1.5˚C limit: All key sectors—energy generation, road transport, buildings, industry, forestry and land use, and commercial agriculture—have to begin major efforts to cut emissions by, latest, 2020. By 2025 they should have accelerated these efforts in order to reach globally aggregated zero carbon dioxide emissions by mid-century, and zero greenhouse gas emissions overall roughly in the 2060s. The CAT scientists warned that in today’s carbon...

This new report by NewClimate Institute, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) provides an overview of projected greenhouse gas emissions in 25 major emitting countries/regions up to 2030, taking into account the emission trajectories based on current policies and the implementation of intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) and nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Key findings of the current study: The degree to which countries/regions are likely to achieve their 2030 targets under current...

The objective of this seventh UNEP Emissions Gap Report is to provide an up-to-date scientific assessment of the global progress towards the emissions reductions required to be on track to meet the long-term goal of the UNFCCC. In particular, this year the report emphasizes the implications of the Paris Agreement’s strengthened goal of holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for immediate and longer-term mitigation action. The 2016 Emissions Gap Report addresses the...

Renewable energy and energy efficiency projects implemented in developing countries from 2005 to 2015 will reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by almost half a gigatonne by 2020, according to the second report by the 1 Gigaton Coalition. These reductions could more than double, reaching one gigatonne, if developed nations deliver on commitments made in Paris last year to provide $100 billion in annual climate financing for developing nations by 2020, finds the report. One gigatonne is roughly equivalent to the emissions generated by transport in the European Union (including aviation) over...

The adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015 moved the world a step closer to avoiding dangerous climate change. The aggregated individual intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) are not yet sufficient to be consistent with the long-term goals of the agreement of ‘holding the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C’ and ‘pursuing efforts’ towards 1.5°C. However, the Paris Agreement gives hope that this inconsistency can be resolved. We find that many of the contributions are conservative and in some cases may be overachieved. We also find that the...

The building sector accounts for around 20% of climate-changing emissions, and its energy demand is likely to double by mid-century without action, according to a Climate Action Tracker (CAT) analysis released today. While the technologies required to make new buildings zero-emissions are all available, the sector is not taking up those technologies as fast as it could and renovation rates are low. Delayed action would put pressure on other sectors to cut emissions, or require negative emissions to keep global warming within the Paris Agreement’s temperature limit. The building sector analysis...

This guidance assists policymakers in designing national mitigation strategies for the refrigeration, air conditioning and foam (RAC&F) sector to meet the increasing ambition levels expected in revised NDCs. By aligning efforts taken under the two relevant international regimes, the UNFCCC and the Montreal Protocol, the RAC&F sector can make a significant contribution towards reaching the 2°C target, or even the 1.5°C target. Introduction: With the objective to hold the increase in global average temperature well below 2°C and the ambition to limit it to 1.5°C, parties to the United Nations...

NewClimate Institute contributed to a policy brief on ‘Two unconventional options to enhance multilateral climate finance’ under the European Capacity Building Initiative (ecbi). The brief considers two unconventional sources of finance to overcome the current challenges in multilateral climate finance and enhance predictability and magnitude: a ‘share of proceeds’ from national and sub-national emission trading schemes; and crowdfunding from corporate air passengers.

In light of the ambitious targets of the Paris Agreement, large potential for emission reductions exists in the corporate sector. An increasing number of companies are making commitments to contribute to the agreement’s long-term targets. The CDP Climate Change Report 2016, in collaboration with the We Mean Business coalition, presents carbon emissions and climate change mitigation data from a global sample of 1,089 companies. The first in an annual series, the report tracks companies’ progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement against this...