Browse in news and blog posts

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 o C 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 o C. 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...

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...

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...

Read more at the CAT Website See CAT assessment of submitted INDCs The Climate Action Tracker has developed a new method to assess “comparable efforts” and the “fair share” of governments’ national greenhouse gas reduction proposals. Such a comparison is essential for the successful completion of an agreement on climate change in Paris in December this year, as some governments have made their offers conditional on comparable action by others. For the first time, the method we have developed provides a comprehensive overview of many different viewpoints on what could be considered a “fair”...

Research by NewClimate Institute assesses the co-benefits achieved by the INDCs of the EU, China and the U.S., and reaffirms that taking more action faster has significant co-benefits. View the report In March, countries began to submit their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) for the new international climate change agreement, which is expected to be agreed at the 21 st Conference of Parties in Paris in December 2015. Analysis of INDC preparations worldwide show that a second wave of these proposed national contributions should be expected by June, with a third larger wave...

The updated results of NewClimate Institute’s research to track the preparation of INDCs are now published. View the results The first wave of submissions of Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the UNFCCC’s INDC portal due in March is likely to cover only less than a third of global emissions, but already in June they are likely to reach over half, as now revealed by research from NewClimate Institute . This allows for a constructive negotiation process on the contributions during 2015. All countries have been asked to present an emissions reduction proposal, which would...