The International Energy Agency released a new report today, Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map, finding that global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2012 increased by 1.4 percent, reaching a record high of 31.6 gigatonnes.
Domestic legislation, the Climate Change Act 2008, commits the United Kingdom to an 80 percent emission reduction from 1990 levels by 2050. The legislation also mandates a system of five-year carbon budgets to progress toward that target.
This report summarizes key UK policies already enacted and in development that are likely to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the country, discusses the implications of the current policy scenario for the country’s GHG trajectory, and identifies issues to watch going forward. Our analysis finds that if future carbon budgets are to be met, progress in emission reductions must accelerate.
The Open Climate Network (OCN) is an independent, international partnership that tracks and reports on the progress of key countries on climate change. OCN analysis is prepared by partners around the world covering climate finance, mitigation policy, and clean technology.
Taryn Fransen (World Resources Institute) and Smita Nakhooda (Overseas Development Institute)
Working Paper: May, 2012
The UK has made a substantial effort to mobilise climate finance. Finance has been channelled through the Environmental Transformation Fund in 2010/11 and through the International Climate Fund (ICF) in 2011/12. GBP 1.06 billion had been spent and committed as of November 2011. It has also committed climate finance beyond the FSF period through the International Climate Fund (ICF), which will spend GBP 2.9 billion between April 2011 and March 2015.
Two new international standards will be launched at events in New York and London to enable corporations to measure and manage greenhouse gas emissions across their entire value chain and product lifecycle.
Today, the government of the United Kingdom took a significant step to shift to a low-carbon economy, providing clear signals to investors that the UK wants to host large-scale clean energy projects moving forward.
All the latest emission reduction pledges from developed countries, including recent announcements from the U.S. and Russia, are incorporated in an interactive Web application released by the World Resources Institute (WRI) here today at the U.N. climate conference.
Click on map to see where WRI is making a difference.