International climate policy

Most countries have hard-to-abate “Achilles’ heel” sectors for domestic environmental action; in Latin America, these are large export-oriented primary industries like fossil-fuel extraction, mining, and industrial agriculture.

Global fossil co₂ emissions are expected to grow 1.1% in 2023 despite record progress in clean energy. A renewed focus on limiting the use of coal, oil, and gas is needed. 

India must reduce its emissions and meet sustainable development goals at the same time. How can the shift to renewable energy be a more just transition in the world’s most populous country?

Global fossil co₂ emissions are expected to grow 1.0% in 2022 as the COVID recovery continues amidst turmoil in energy markets. Growth in oil use, particularly aviation, and coal use are behind most of the increase in 2022. 

During the recent Glasgow Climate Conference (COP26) there was a lot of focus on the climate outcomes of new climate policy pledges. A new analysis shows that these outcomes are more uncertain then often assumed.

Global co₂ emissions declined sharply in 2020, but with a rebound expected in 2021 efforts must be intensified if the world is to reach the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement and keep global warming well below 2°C, a new study shows.

COMMENTARY: A new paper suggests a rather significant upward revision of the carbon budget for 1.5°C. This is a potential game changer, but it is too early to reformulate mitigation plans.

Geo-engineering can be a cheap way of instantly lowering the Earth’s temperature - with potentially devastating side effects. The technology is here but international regulation is lacking.

Since its beginnings in the 1980s and 1990s, science has played a crucial role in defining the climate question. Similarly, climate policy has always been inherently “scientized”. But the times, they are a'changing.

Who is responsible for climate change? How to break the equity deadlock? These questions have been hanging over international climate talks since several decades.