For country commitments to form the basis of an effectively functioning agreement, a framework of international climate machinery needs to be built around them.
UNFCCC
President Trump announced one year ago that he would pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement. Meanwhile, other countries and U.S. states, cities and businesses have moved forward with climate action.
Negotiators made progress in a number of areas at the latest UN climate talks, which wrapped on May 10, but an overburdened agenda left them with a lot more ground to cover before the big climate summit (COP24) in Poland this December.
With the launch of the 2018 Talanoa Dialogue in January, countries are now embarking on the first global assessment of efforts to achieve the Paris Agreement on climate change. These "global stocktakes" are a core part of the Agreement's five-year cycles to ramp up ambition and action.
Toxic air pollution. Plastic-filled oceans. Sucking carbon from the skies. These are just a few of the stories that will shape 2018's legacy.
This week's climate conference in Bonn highlights the importance of sub-national actors in meeting global climate goals. But how can we measure success from these new players? The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy offers a new common framework for reporting greenhouse gas emissions from transport, energy, waste and buildings.
Enhancing NDCs by 2020: Achieving the Goals of the Paris Agreement
Much has changed since countries first developed their NDCs. All Parties have the opportunity to communicate new or updated NDCs by 2020, informed by the outcomes of a facilitative dialogue in 2018, and incorporating advances in renewable energy, technology and policy developments in key sectors...
The annual Emissions Gap Report looks at the difference between the emissions reductions countries have promised and those needed to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. Bottom line? The gap is considerable.
The Trump administration's proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan is based on flawed analysis that understates the plan's benefits, part of this administration's unfortunate pattern of dismantling sensible policies and rejecting the underlying science of climate change.
The climate mitigation potential of forests is immense. To help prepare for next year's Global Stocktake of NDCs, new publications by the Climate and Land Use Alliance clarify the way forests are counted under UNFCCC rules.