WRI Insights

South Africa’s newly released climate plan pledges to peak national emissions that cause climate change by 2025 and goes further than other countries on adaptation by quantifying what it will cost to adapt to climate change in light of several possible emissions scenarios.

This week Brazil formally submitted its climate plan, also known as its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC). The country’s INDC comes on the heels of joint climate change declarations it’s made in recent months with China, Germany and the United States, showing that the country is committed to a creating a successful international climate agreement in Paris later this year.

Even for those of us who work on climate change every day, last week was one of the most inspiring events in a long time.

Negotiators from nearly 200 countries will convene in Paris in December with the aim of forging a legally-binding international climate agreement. The new pact will incorporate more ambitious national commitments to address climate change than ever before. But what is the proper yardstick for measuring success in Paris?

China committed to establish a national emissions-trading program, while the United States announced new actions to help reduce its emissions 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.

Two new papers from the Open Climate Network find that with further ambitious actions, China can peak its emissions at a lower level than planned, with lower cumulative emissions than initially thought.

Solving the challenges of air and water pollution will require more than the adoption of top-down solutions or greener technology. It will require countries to address key governance challenges, like inaccessible information and a lack of public participation.

Kebakaran di Indonesia terus menghasilkan asap dan kabut di seluruh wilayah, dengan polusi udara mencapai level yang sangat berbahaya dalam semalam di Singapura. Sejak pukul 5 pagi pada tanggal 25 September, level polutan negara tersebut merupakan yang tertinggi dari yang pernah diukur hingga tahun 2015. Pada level ini, seluruh masyarakat cenderung terkena dampak negatif, dan para pihak yang berwenang telah menutup semua sekolah dasar dan menengah hingga situasi menjadi lebih baik.

Sementara masih menghadapi asap tebal dari kebakaran hutan dalam beberapa minggu terakhir, Indonesia telah menyerahkan rancangan kebijakan iklim pasca-2020, yang dikenal sebagai Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), atau Kontribusi Nasional yang Dimaksudkan. Di dalam dokumen tersebut, negara penyumbang emisi gas rumah kaca terbesar kelima di dunia ini berkomitmen terhadap target tak bersyarat berupa 29 persen penurunan emisi pada tahun 2030 dibandingkan skenario business-as-usual, dan sebesar 41 persen dengan bantuan internasional. Dengan ini, Indonesia telah menetapkan untuk memperpanjang target mitigasi sukarela 2020 dan bergabung dengan lebih dari 70 negara lainnya yang telah mengumumkan INDC mereka.

As national leaders gather in New York for Climate Week, many of the world’s 500 largest companies are already considering their impact on Earth’s climate. Eighty percent of them have set targets to reduce their climate-warming emissions.