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Browse publications
The road ahead: How do we move to cleaner car fleets
Publication date 16 Sep 2016

Zero emission vehicles need to take over car market to reach 1.5°C limit: analysis Zero-emission vehicles need to reach a dominant market share by around 2035 for the world to meet the Paris Agreement’s lower warming limit of 1.5°C—and even that could be too late to avoid the need for significant negative emissions, according to new analysis by the Climate Action Tracker (CAT). This transformation of the passenger transport sector would also have to be accompanied by a decarbonisation of the power sector to ensure the electric vehicles (EV) are truly emissions free. In the first of its...

Brown to Green Report 2016
Publication date 01 Sep 2016

This “Brown to Green” report by Climate Transparency provides a comprehensive overview and assessment for the G20 countries, whether - and how well - they are doing on the journey to transition to a low carbon economy. The report draws on publicly available information and makes use of the assessment work of the Climate Action Tracker (CAT) (operated by NewClimate Institute, Climate Analytics, Ecofys and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research), Germanwatch’s Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI). It summarises and compares the findings...

Publication in Nature: Paris Agreement climate proposals need a boost to keep warming well below 2°C
Publication date 29 Jun 2016

The Paris climate agreement aims at holding global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and to “pursue efforts” to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius. To accomplish this, countries have submitted Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) outlining their post-2020 climate action. Here we assess the effect of current INDCs on reducing aggregate greenhouse gas emissions, its implications for achieving the temperature objective of the Paris climate agreement, and potential options for overachievement. The INDCs collectively lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to where current...

The Paris Agreement - What it Means for Business
Publication date 29 Jun 2016

The Paris Agreement is expected to have an unprecedented impact on the global economy in the 21st century. As the international community commit to reaching net zero emissions during the second half of the century, the impacts on the private sector will be far-reaching. This report looks at the linkages between the Paris Agreement and countries’ NDCs and the business implications in renewable energy markets, carbon pricing, management of climate risks, and resilience building. For this We Mean Business report in partnership with BSR, NewClimate Institute were responsible for collecting and...

The Business End of Climate Change
Publication date 28 Jun 2016

Aside from national and sub-national governments taking action against climate change, large potential for emission reductions exists in the corporate sector. More and more companies are making commitments to contribute to the long-term targets of the Paris Agreement. These include, for instance, pledges to source electricity from renewables, stop sourcing commodities causing deforestation, and increasing energy efficiency across various sectors. This report estimates how large the contribution towards bending the emissions curve to “well below 2°C” from five representative initiatives – RE100...

Allianz Climate and Energy Monitor
Publication date 31 May 2016

The Allianz Climate and Energy Monitor ranks G20 member states on their attractiveness as potential destinations for investment in low-carbon electricity infrastructure. It takes into account their current and future investment needs in line with a 2° C global warming trajectory. Consistency with the Paris Agreement, negotiated by 195 countries at the end of 2015, would require a full decarbonization of the global economy before the end of the century. This transformation will be particularly challenging for the energy sector – the largest source of carbon emissions. Every existing and new...

The transformational potential of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions in Tanzania
Publication date 29 Mar 2016

Publication in Local Environment Assessing the concept's cultural legitimacy among stakeholders in the solar energy sector While energy-sector emissions remain the biggest source of climate change, many least-developed countries still invest in fossil-fuel development paths. These countries generally have high levels of fossil-fuel technology lock-in and low capacities to change, making the shift to sustainable energy difficult. Tanzania, a telling example, is projected to triple fossil-fuel power production in the next decade. This article assesses the potential to use internationally...

After Paris: What is next for Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)?
Publication date 09 Mar 2016

This paper outlines what the Paris Agreement means for Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and what needs to happen at the country level now and in the longer term to implement the Agreement. The paper focuses explicitly on the mitigation part of national contributions and discusses specific steps in response to the relevant parts of the agreed framework including a view on how these may be supported internationally.

Challenges and lessons learned in the preparation of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)
Publication date 09 Mar 2016

This document presents a synthesis of the main challenges and lessons learned from the preparation process of intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) by Parties to the UNFCCC in the run up to Paris. The challenges and lessons learned from the INDC preparation process hold great relevance for the next steps regarding the implementation and further development of countries’ nationally determined contributions (NDCs), in terms of both clarity and ambition. The report is based on the research NewClimate Institute (NCI) has conducted during the INDC preparation process, including two...

Conditionality of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)
Publication date 25 Feb 2016

Of the 156 Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) submitted to the UNFCCC by the closure of COP 21 and the adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015, at least 78% of these INDCs included conditions. In most cases Parties submitted a conditional contribution alongside an unconditional contribution,but approximately one third of INDCs include only a conditional contribution. This briefing paper by NewClimate Institute concisely presents the key information and aspects on the conditionality of countries‘ mitigation contributions in their INDCs. It gives an overview of the...

What does the Paris Agreement mean for climate protection in Germany?
Publication date 23 Feb 2016

The long-term global climate goals of the Paris Agreement adopted by nearly 200 countries in December 2015, imply enhanced efforts for greenhouse gas emissions reductions in Germany. The phrasing of the long term goals of the Paris Agreement goes beyond prior political consensus. The objective is to limit the global increase in temperature to “well below 2°C” above pre-industrial levels, “pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C”, as well as to lower the net GHG emissions to zero in the second half of the century. The aim of this brief analysis is to translate the goals of the...

Narrowing the emissions gap: Contributions from renewable energy and energy efficiency activities
Publication date 08 Dec 2015

The inaugural report of the 1 Gigaton Coalition, entitled Narrowing the Emissions Gap: Contributions from renewable energy and energy efficiency activities, is now available, and details the emissions saved after analysing nearly 6,000 renewable energy and energy efficiency activities in developing countries. They show the potential for further emissions reductions if programmes and initiatives are supported further to replicate successful projects more widely. The report is based on the current level of activities in renewable energy and energy efficiency in the energy sector. However, after...

Global Good Practice Analysis 2.0
Publication date 07 Dec 2015

The Global Good Practice Analysis is a joint initiative by the International Partnership on Mitigation and MRV and the UNDP Low Emission Capacity Building Programme and documents examples of mitigation-related good practice worldwide which demonstrate how INDCs, LEDS, NAMAs and MRV systems are being effectively designed and implemented across a range of national contexts. In the second edition of the Global Good Practice Analysis (GPA2.0) a new selection of cases was examined by a consortium led by NewClimate Institute and including the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), The...

Faster and Cleaner - Decarbonisation in the power and transport sectors is surpassing predictions and offering hope for limiting warming
Publication date 04 Dec 2015

The transition from fossil fuels to cleaner, safer energy technologies is under way. To pinpoint where decarbonization is happening most rapidly—and to extract lessons and best practices that can be applied to other areas of the global economy where progress is needed in the fight against climate change—this study by ClimateWorks, NewClimate Institute, Ecofys, and Climate Analytics compares past projections with actual developments in renewable energy, coal consumption, and passenger vehicles. Key findings include: Decarbonization of the power sector is happening faster than predicted. Reduced...

The sixth Emissions Gap Report 2015
Publication date 03 Dec 2015

This sixth UNEP Emissions Gap Report provides a scientific assessment of the mitigation contributions from the submitted INDCs. As in the previous reports, it then compares the resulting emission levels in 2030 with what science tells us is required to be on track towards the agreed target of a global average temperature increase below 2°C by 2100. The Report also provides data for the aspirational target of keeping the temperature increase below 1.5°C. In addition, the Report presents selected areas where enhanced action can be taken, accelerated and scaled up to close the emissions gap. The...

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