Browse in news and blog posts

Browse in news and blog posts
NewClimate Institute at the COP24 in Katowice
Publication date 27 Nov 2018

From December 2-14 2018, the 24th Conference of Parties of the UNFCCC took place. NewClimate Institute was present at Katowice with multiple events. Also, we already had released several related publications beforehand, and continued doing so during the COP itself. Find all information about it here. Events & Appearances Events with NewClimate Institute participation: View presentation Side event: Increasing mitigation action for 1.5°C (NewClimate-Event) NewClimate Institute and Wuppertal Institute presented an analysis on short-term steps to reduce emissions. Organiser: CAN Europe, NewClimate...

Solid progress in a marathon: How do new city, region, and business announcements from the Global Climate Action Summit measure up?
Publication date 21 Nov 2018

Article by: Angel Hsu, Niklas Höhne, Mark Roelfsema, Takeshi Kuramochi, Amy Weinfurter, Katharina Lütkehermöller, Nomawethu Moyo, Yihao Xi, Swithin Lui, Andrew Feierman (Data-Driven Yale, NewClimate Institute, and PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency) See this blog on the websites of Data driven Yale and PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency . The 2018 Emissions Gap Report that will be released next week will feature the contribution of cities, regions, and business to bring the world closer in line with global climate goals. More than 5,000 of these “non-state actors”...

The SCAN-tool: A new way to explore links between climate action and SDGs
Publication date 08 Nov 2018

In 2015, leaders from the member states of the United Nations agreed on objectives to shift all economies and societies toward sustainable and decarbonised development through the adoption of the Agenda 2030 on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on limiting global warming to well below 2°C. Both frameworks interlink in such way that, if approached in the right way, climate and sustainable development actions can mutually reinforce each other. Likewise, failure in one process could undermine the success of the other. Looking at it in this way, policy makers should...

Lignite pollutants: Roughly 320 premature deaths annually from burning Hambach coal
Publication date 25 Oct 2018

The Hambach open-pit mine, widely covered in the news in recent weeks, supplies a significant portion of the coal that is burned in the Niederaussem and Neurath power plants in Germany’s lignite mining area of North Rhine-Westphalia. Its harmful effects on the climate and local environment are well known. Recent analysis by NewClimate Institute has estimated the direct impacts on human health of burning the coal to generate electricity. The pollutants produced by the burning of Hambach coal alone contribute to roughly 320 premature deaths per year, caused for example by heart disease or stroke...

Schadstoffe durch Braunkohle: Rund 320 vorzeitige Todesfälle pro Jahr durch Kohle aus Hambach
Publication date 25 Oct 2018

Der in den letzten Wochen viel diskutierte Tagebau Hambach liefert einen erheblichen Teil der Kohle, die in den Kraftwerken Niederaußem und Neurath im rheinischen Braunkohlerevier verbrannt wird. Dass dies schädlich für Klima und Umwelt ist, ist lange bekannt, doch auch der direkte Einfluss auf die menschliche Gesundheit lässt sich bestimmen: Die durch Verbrennung der Hambacher Kohle erzeugten Schadstoffe tragen zu rund 320 frühzeitigen Todesfällen pro Jahr bei, etwa durch Herzerkrankungen oder Schlaganfälle. Zu diesem Ergebnis kommt eine aktuelle Analyse des NewClimate Institutes. Ein Ende...

Werden wir 1.5°C einhalten oder ist es schon zu spät? – Falsche Frage!
Publication date 08 Oct 2018

Das Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) hat den Special Report zu 1.5°C veröffentlicht. Hier die Einschätzungen von NewClimate zum Bericht. Der Sonderbericht sendet ein klares Signal an die Politik: jetzt handeln, es ist fast schon zu spät! Vielen in der Politik war vielleicht noch nicht klar, worauf sie sich eingelassen haben, als sie 2015 in Paris dem Ziel zugestimmt haben, den globalen Temperaturanstieg auf 1.5°C zu begrenzen. Nun ist durch einen der aufwändigsten wissenschaftlichen Überprüfungsprozesse klargestellt: Eine Begrenzung auf 1.5°C ist nötig, um wichtige Ökosysteme...

Will we stay below 1.5°C or is it already too late? - Wrong question!
Publication date 08 Oct 2018

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released its special report on 1.5°C . Here is NewClimate’s take on the report. The IPCC special report sends a clear message to policy makers: act now, it's almost too late! Many policy makers may not have understood what they agreed to when, in 2015 in Paris, they agreed to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. Now one of the most elaborate scientific verification processes, the IPCC, has made it clear: A 1.5°C limit is necessary to protect important ecosystems (Summary for policy makers, SPM, section B4), it is technically and...

National action on climate change now covers 89% of GHG emissions, spurred by international climate agreements
Publication date 06 Aug 2018

Our new study published by Climate Policy finds that national climate action has spread rapidly, and that this spread is strongly coincident with landmark international agreements. Following the Paris Agreement, 89% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (76% not counting USA) are covered by pledged national GHG reduction targets, a near universal coverage. Moreover, more than two thirds of global emissions are covered by national climate legislation or strategy, a development strongly shaped by negotiations around the Copenhagen Accord. While national actions are, as yet, insufficiently...

Long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies essential for next short-term steps
Publication date 14 May 2018

Long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies are essential to plan short-term steps for greenhouse gas emission reduction and to set targets for the second round of nationally determined contributions. Such long-term strategies should focus on full decarbonisation in line with the Paris Agreement’s long-term goals for each sector and the required financial resources to implement them. This blog provides reasons why. Download as pdf Introduction 2018 marks an important year for the UNFCCC climate negotiations as the details of the Paris Agreement, the “Paris Agreement...

Climate Action Tracker news: Country updates briefing published plus comprehensive homepage relaunch
Publication date 03 May 2018

The Climate Action Tracker has released an update on 23 of the 32 countries whose development on climate action tracked is released. Also, as part of the respective project team, NewClimate Institute is proud to announce the relaunch of the homepage for the Climate Action Tracker. Update on country development (Briefing) Paris Tango. Climate action so far in 2018: individual countries step forward, others backward, risking stranded coal assets The Climate Action Tracker has updated our assessments of 23 of the 32 countries whose development on climate action we track. While some progress has...

WORKSHOP: Integration of Renewables into the Argentinean electricity system
Publication date 05 Apr 2018

Under the Ambition to Action project funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German government, NewClimate Institute organised a workshop with stakeholders on the integration of renewable energy technologies into the Argentinean electricity system. Read the Workshop Notes The workshop was hosted by the Argentinean Independent System Operator, CAMMESA , and brought together representatives from the Argentinean Ministry of Energy , the grid operator TRANSENER and CAMMESA to discuss the impact of scaled up renewables on the current and future operation of the Argentinean...

Climate policy of new Merkel Government: Three steps forward - four back
Publication date 12 Mar 2018

Deutsche Version With the coalition agreement for a new German government under Angela Merkel, a major opportunity to realign German climate policy to the challenges of the Paris Climate Change Agreement has passed. The new coalition no longer aims to reach the German 2020 climate target in time. With this announcement, Germany officially steps down as an international climate champion and undermines the Paris agreement as a whole. The coalition agreement fails to provide new ideas for tackling greenhouse gas emissions in industry and buildings, and proposed measures in transport are...

Klimapolitik im Koalitionsvertrag: Drei Schritte vor - vier zurück
Publication date 05 Mar 2018

English version Mit dem Koalitionsvertrag von CDU/CSU und SPD ist eine große Chance vertan, deutsche Klimapolitik an den Herausforderungen des Pariser Klimaschutzabkommens neu auszurichten. Mit der Abkehr der großen Koalition, das für 2020 gesteckte Klimaziel tatsächlich auch in 2020 zu erreichen, gibt Deutschland nun offiziell die Rolle als internationaler Klimaschutzvorreiter auf und unterminiert damit das Abkommen als Ganzes. Der Koalitionsvertrag enthält keine neuen Ideen, Treibhausgasemissionen in Industrie und Gebäuden in den Griff zu bekommen, vorgeschlagene Maßnahmen im Verkehr werden...

Deutschland droht das Pariser Klimaschutzabkommen zu unterminieren
Publication date 12 Jan 2018

Mit der Abkehr der potentiellen neuen großen Koalition vom Klimaziel für 2020 gibt Deutschland nun offiziell die Rolle als internationaler Klimaschutzvorreiter auf. Mit Ausnahme der Förderung der Erneuerbaren Energien im Stromsektor und einigen Energieeffizienzmaßnahmen im Gebäudesektor ist in allen Sektoren versäumt worden, wirksame Klimaschutzmaßnahmen umzusetzen, so dass deutsche Treibhausgasemissionen in diesem Jahrzehnt nicht weiter sinken und auf einem immer noch hohen Niveau stagnieren. Das Klimaziel nun auch offiziell aufzugeben, ist mehr als nur ein interner Kompromiss der zukünftigen...

Ten key sectoral benchmarks in ten years toward the 1.5°C warming limit – Climate Action Tracker analysis published in Climate Policy
Publication date 06 Dec 2017

Analysis by the Climate Action Tracker was published in Climate Policy , an international peer-reviewed journal, today. The paper identifies ten important, short-term sectoral benchmarks that key sectors need to take to help the world achieve the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit. This new article addresses the questions to be discussed in the Paris Agreement’s 2018 Facilitative Dialogue , to be known as Talanoa Dialogue: “Where are we?”, “Where do we want to go?” and “How do we get there?” In particular for the last question, this paper adds actionable advice to policy makers. All key sectors...

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