Our topics

Mitigation targets, policies and actions

Tracking, evaluation and support of climate change mitigation policies and actions from a wide range of stakeholders to support ambition-raising efforts.

Tracking climate action

Overview

The Paris Agreement mandates countries to develop, communicate and implement so-called nationally determined contributions (NDCs) in the context of long-term strategies (LTS) towards full decarbonisation of the economy. These in turn require climate policy planning and the implementation of policies, measures and action at national, subnational and sectoral levels.

Importantly, all climate policy efforts should be aligned with the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement of limiting global temperature increase to 1.5°C while securing and safeguarding sustainable development for all. Mainstreaming climate policy and sustainable development goals into national policy frameworks is a huge challenge where countries can benefit from the exchange of good practices and lessons learned from different parts of the globe.

We support ambitious mitigation targets and action through:

  • Supporting the development and revision of NDCs, LTS and climate action plans at national and sectoral levels
  • Formulation of ambitious sectoral transformation strategies and associated policy measures
  • Building institutional structures and capacities for climate policy implementation
  • Tracking and quantifying targets and policies
  • Methods for evaluating net-zero or climate neutrality claims
  • Estimating the impact of climate action on national and global emissions
  • Benchmarks for 1.5°C compatibility on the sector and national level
  • Methods to rate governments’ and other actors’ climate action
National 1.5 °C wind and solar benchmarks

A significant amount of GHGs contributing to the climate crisis are emitted from the power sector, through the combustion of fossil...

Tracking the progress of subnational and non-state climate action

Page navigation About the project The consortium Relevant publications About the project Since 2018, the consortium comprised of...

Net Zero Tracker

The Net Zero Tracker is the world’s only open-source independent review of the quantity and quality of net zero targets across...

Horizon 2020 ELEVATE

ELEVATE aims to develop scientific insights to support the preparations of Nationally Determined Contributions and national climate...

The Netherlands’ fair contribution to climate change mitigation

In this project, NewClimate analysed the Netherland’ government’s proposed target pathway of reducing GHG emissions to 55% below 1990...

Systems Change Lab

Change is rarely linear, and transitions are often dynamic. A faster than expected growth has been observed in some technologies, e.g...

Supporting collective progress assessment under the Global Stocktake

Differentiated analysis of collective progress and national courses of action following the Global Stocktake Together with Öko...

Tracking national mitigation efforts post-2020

Together with International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and FTSE Russell, NewClimate Institute analysed climate...

Advancing the COMPASS toolbox to assess climate action

NewClimate Institute is an implementing partner of the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT), supporting its work to...

NDC Design

As part of the Paris Agreement, countries are mandated to update and enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) every...

Klimaschutzpolitik im deutschen Verkehrssektor entspricht etwa 3°C globaler Erwärmung
Publication date 27 Apr 2023

Der globale Klimawandel ist existenzbedrohend. Um die gravierendsten Schäden zu vermeiden, hat sich die Staatengemeinschaft im Jahr...

What is a fair emissions budget for Belgium?
Publication date 31 Mar 2023

Under an approach that distributes the remaining global budget as of 2020 to countries based on their emissions at that point and...

Deutsche LNG-Ausbaupläne führen zu Überkapazität und gefährden Klimaschutzziele
Publication date 17 Mar 2023

Dieser Bericht liefert einen Review und eine klimapolitische Einordnung der aktuellen Studienlage zu neuen und geplanten Flüssigerdgas...

Greenhouse gas distributions to inform the global stocktake
Publication date 03 Mar 2023

In the Paris Agreement, countries agreed to the global goal of limiting end-of-century global warming increase to well below 2°C and...

Plans for German liquefied natural gas terminals are massively oversized
Publication date 13 Dec 2022

You can find a German version of the report here. Germany’s planned LNG import terminals are not necessarily required to compensate for...

Pläne für deutsche Flüssigerdgas-Terminals sind massiv überdimensioniert
Publication date 08 Dec 2022

You can find an English version of the report here. Die derzeitig geplanten deutschen LNG -Import-Terminals sind nicht zwingend nötig...

Decarbonisation in the global steel sector: tracking the progress
Publication date 02 Dec 2022

The global steel sector is making progress towards reducing its CO2 emissions but is not yet on track to halve CO2 emissions by 2030 or...

Net Zero Tracker: Recommendations and current realities
Publication date 15 Nov 2022

Last week saw the UN publish its high-level expert report on ensuring the credibility and accountability of net zero pledges by non...

The Climate Change Performance Index 2023
Publication date 14 Nov 2022

Key findings The current energy crisis clearly demonstrates how the world remains dependent on fossil fuels. However, many countries...

Global Climate action 2022: Landscape, performance, and potential of international initiatives
Publication date 11 Nov 2022

We identified 601 ICIs launched since 2013 with more than 70,000 instances of participation by cities and regions, businesses, and by...

Systems Change Lab data platform

Systems Change Lab is a collaborative initiative designed to spur action at the pace and scale needed to tackle some of the world’s...

Policy impact assessment tool (EV)

The EV policy impact assessment tool allows for the quantification of future share of new Electric Vehicles (EVs) and future share of...

CAAT - Climate Action Aggregation Tool

The ICAT Climate Action Aggregation Tool (CAAT) guides users in a step-by-step process to define a research scope, compile non-state...

Policy impact assessment tool (RE)

The RE policy impact assessment tool allows for the quantification of future share of variable renewables in electricity generation in...

Major Dutch companies’ climate pledges fall short of what is needed for Paris Agreement
Publication date 05 Jul 2022

Berlin, 5 July 2022 – New analysis published today shows that major Dutch companies only commit to reduce their emissions by 19% by...

The UN Climate Change reconvenes next week in Bonn: what will be discussed?
Publication date 09 Jun 2022

Image via Flickr The midyear UN climate conference “56th session of the Subsidiary Bodies” will take place from 6 to 16 June 2022, in...

Enhancing national climate ambition through city and business climate change targets: a whole-of-society approach
Publication date 10 Feb 2021

A new tool to evaluate integrated climate action of non-state and subnational actors The world now faces a critical juncture as...

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...

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...

Improvement in warming outlook as India and China move ahead, but Paris Agreement gap still looms large
Publication date 15 Nov 2017

While US climate policy has been rolled back under President Trump, India and China have moved ahead, making significant progress in...

Decarbonising the global steel and cement sectors requires more than zero carbon fuels—now
Publication date 27 Oct 2017

As part of our ongoing investigations into the decarbonisation of various sectors, our latest study looks at the emissions from the...

Climate Action Tracker launches new rating system
Publication date 19 Sep 2017

The Climate Action Tracker (CAT) has updated its government climate action rating system to better reflect the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C...

Increased reliance on natural gas risks an emissions lock-in – Climate Action Tracker
Publication date 22 Jun 2017

The future of natural gas is limited, even as a bridging fuel. Continued investments into the sector create the risk of breaching the...

China, India slow global emissions growth, Trump’s polices will flatten US emissions
Publication date 15 May 2017

Press Release Global leadership on climate is changing, with positive developments on coal use in China and India likely to reduce...

Virtual event: Achieving climate neutrality through corporate transition plans (CSDDD)
Venue Online
Date 03 May 2023
Start time 02:30 pm

This virtual event, organised by the European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils Network (EEAC Network), focused...

Virtual event: Systems Change for People and Planet: What You Need to Know
Venue Online
Date 02 Mar 2023
Start time 04:00 pm

To limit global temperature rise, conserve nature, and build a fairer economy that benefits everyone, we will need deep change across...

Online event: Climate Action in Africa
Venue Online
Date 12 Dec 2022
Start time 03:00 pm

The Climate Action Tracker held a virtual event on Monday, December 12 entitled: “What’s next for the African continent? Charting a...

Online event: Energiewende in Krisenzeiten: Sind Klimaschutz und Versorgungssicherheit vereinbar?
Venue Online
Date 08 Dec 2022
Start time 11:00 am

Kohlekraftwerke kommen zurück ans Netz, neue Gasfelder sollen erschlossen werden, der Betrieb der Kernkraftwerke wurde verlängert – die...

COP27: Climate action by businesses, cities, and cooperative initiatives: faster, and stronger towards more ambitious NDCs
Venue COP27, EU pavilion (online)
Date 17 Nov 2022
Start time 05:30 pm

Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, a myriad of actors incl. businesses, cities, and cooperative initiatives have committed to a...

COP27: Global Stocktake of Non-State Actors' Net Zero Commitments
Venue COP27, Room Luxor
Date 15 Nov 2022
Start time 05:00 pm

Non-State Actors (NSAs) such as regions, cities, and companies are critical drivers of climate action - their collective net zero...

COP27: Tracking progress of national and industry sector actions towards global net zero emissions
Venue COP 27, EU Online Pavilion
Date 15 Nov 2022
Start time 04:00 pm

In this event we presented the latest research on the progress of major emitting countries and emission-intensive industries against...

COP27: The Emissions Gap Report 2022
Venue COP27, Action Room 1 (Ibis) (Blue Zone)
Date 15 Nov 2022
Start time 01:15 pm

The UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2022: The Closing Window — Climate crisis calls for rapid transformation of societies provides an updated...

COP27: A mobility just transition: perspectives on inclusive transport, including aviation
Venue COP 27, UNFCCC Pavilion, Amon Room
Date 15 Nov 2022
Start time 11:30 am

This event explored a just transition to sustainable mobility, with particular focus on regional and gendered perspectives. It included...

COP27: Paris-compatible sector benchmarks to help in defining national and corporate climate action
Venue COP27, WeMeanBusiness Pavilion, Auditorium A
Date 14 Nov 2022
Start time 02:30 pm

The event presented and discussed the results of multiple years of work to develop and update Paris-compatible sectoral benchmarks...

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