The dangers of blue carbon offsets: from hot air to hot water?

BRIEFING: What is the real potential of blue carbon as a mitigation measure? To what extent is carbon storage in coastal ecosystems threatened by current and future climate impacts? And is there a danger that focus on blue carbon could detract from reducing emissions from fossil fuel use?

Coal exit by 2040 to keep climate goals within reach - report

Governments need to ensure that global carbon emissions from coal-fired power stations peak next year, and that they eliminate coal from electricity generation by 2040 in order to keep climate change within the internationally agreed limits, according to a new report from Climate Analytics released for the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit in New York.

Decarbonising South and South East Asia

South and South East Asia’s growing economies can shift from their current carbon-intensive pathways to renewable energy to fuel economic growth, boost sustainable development and overcome energy poverty while avoiding life-threatening pollution and environmental degradation, according to a new Climate Analytics report.

Read more.

Smog in Pakistan's capital, Karachi, which is world's sixth-most-populous city with a population of over 14 million. Transitioning to zero-carbon energy would bring South and South East Asian countries huge benefits, including reducing deaths related to air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels. ©Jose Sa via Flickr CC BY 2.0
Smog in Pakistan's capital, Karachi, which is world's sixth-most-populous city with a population of over 14 million. Transitioning to zero-carbon energy would bring South and South East Asian countries huge benefits, including reducing deaths related to air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels. ©Jose Sa via Flickr CC BY 2.0

Evaluating Australia's climate policy action

Together with the Australian Conservation Foundation, we have been analysing Australia’s emissions profile and policies. The result is a set of informative, concise graphic factsheets outlining all you need to know about Australia’s overall economy and emissions in key sectors – industry, electricity and transport – and what can be done to reduce them.

©denisbin via Flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0
©denisbin via Flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0

Latest

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No legal basis for Australia’s use of Kyoto credits

No legal basis for Australia’s use of Kyoto credits

Rather than reduce its emissions today Australia is claiming it can rely on ‘credits’ generated decades ago under old accounting rules in a separate treaty that have no place in the Paris regime, according to a Climate Analytics report released today. The report commissioned by the Australia Institute, examines the nature, scale and legal implications of Australia’s proposed use of ‘Kyoto carryover’ credits to meet its obligations under the Paris Agreement.
11 December 2019
German transport sector off course for Paris climate targets - study

German transport sector off course for Paris climate targets - study

Germany will have to boost its national targets and implement appropriate measures, including in the transport sector, if it is to do its part to help keep global warming within 1.5°C, according to a new Climate Analytics study commissioned by the Agora Verkehrswende initiative. It will also have to support the EU in raising its climate ambition.
11 December 2019

Briefings

More Briefings

Coal Phase Out

Coal is the most carbon intensive fossil fuel and phasing it out is a key step to achieve the emissions reductions needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C, as enshrined in the Paris Agreement. Most emissions from coal are in the electricity sector and, as we already have the technologies that can replace coal, phase out is a relatively cheap and easy option to reduce emissions. Our research shows coal needs to be phased out globally by 2040 to meet the commitments made in Paris.

1.5°C - key facts

Since 2009 over a hundred Small Island Developing States, Least Developed Countries and many others have been calling for limiting global temperature rise to below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Placing the 1.5°C limit alongside the legally binding goal to hold global temperatures “well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” in the Paris Agreement was a major victory for vulnerable countries. This page is an information pool for material around the 1.5°C temperature limit.

Featuring

COP25 briefings & publications

11 Dec – Australia’s proposed ‘Kyoto carryover’ – nature, scale, implications, legal issues and environmental integrity of the Paris Agreement
11 Dec – Article 6 needs ambition, not time wasting
11 Dec – Pre-2020 commitments and the need for more ambitious NDCs
10 Dec – A reminder for the ‘Blue COP’ – limiting warming to 1.5°C crucial for protecting oceans and ocean services
10 Dec – The dangers of blue carbon offsets: from hot air to hot water?
2 Dec – Greenhouse gas accounting metrics under the Paris Agreement
2 Dec – How can Paris Agreement commitments be improved now to close the gap to 1.5°C

Resource page

Loss and Damage

Loss and Damage refers to the impacts of climate change that can no longer be avoided through adaptation or mitigation. It is one of the key issues for vulnerable countries, who have contributed the least to climate change.

They call on the developed world to provide support to cope with Loss and Damage, which otherwise threatens their economies, cultures and the lives of their people.

This page provides background material and key resources, including scientific studies and briefing material and blogs with updates on the policy process under the UNFCCC and under the IPCC.

Blog

All Blog Entries

Home by the sea: new science shows more sea-level rise impacts on small islands

Oceans and seas around the world will continue to rise for centuries, even long after global mean temperatures have stabilised, new research shows. Add to that another recent finding that more land is below the high tide line than originally estimated and the implications for small island communities are clear: they face serious and protracted challenges from global warming related sea-level rise. Steep carbon emission reductions and limiting warming to 1.5°C, as governments agreed by signing the Paris Agreement, will significantly reduce risks related to long-term sea level rise.  
28 November 2019

The kids aren't alright - climate change impacts on children now and in the future

Our blog for World Children's Day - Massive climate strikes around the world demonstrate that children and youth are increasingly aware that climate change is a looming shadow over their future. So what will their future in a changing climate look like and how are children already affected by climate change?  
20 November 2019

Media coverage

All Media coverage
Australia's use of accounting loophole to meet Paris deal found to have no legal basis

Australia's use of accounting loophole to meet Paris deal found to have no legal basisThe Guardian

Australia’s plan to use an accounting loophole to meet its commitment under the Paris climate agreement has no legal basis and suggests it has reneged on a pledge to make deeper emissions cuts once a global deal was reached, a new report says. An analysis by Climate Analytics, a Berlin-based science and policy institute, found there were no grounds for Australia to claim credit towards its Paris emissions target for having beaten targets under its predecessor, the Kyoto protocol.

11 December 2019

Climate science institute suggests Australia must stop burning coal by 2030

Climate science institute suggests Australia must stop burning coal by 2030SBS News

Australia needs to stop burning coal by 2030 if it wants to help limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, a new report warns. Non-profit climate science and policy institute Climate Analytics says the government needs a national plan to phase out remaining coal-fired plants - and must take them offline faster than already planned.

22 November 2019

Calls for replacement of Australia’s coal-fire power stations

Calls for replacement of Australia’s coal-fire power stationsNews.com.au

Seven environmental groups with a membership of more than one million Australians are calling for a radical overhaul of the country’s electricity network saying coal-fired power needs to be replaced within 11 years.It comes as Climate Analytics, a non-profit climate science and policy institute, releases a report today that suggests Australia needs to phase out coal-fired power by 2030 in order to “do its bit”.

21 November 2019

Publications

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Fundamental Risk to Markets Integrity by Inclusion of Non-Greenhouse Gas MetricsBriefing papers

Several of the world biggest emitters have expressed the targets of their National Determined Contributions (NDCs) in non-greenhouse gas units. The current draft CMA decision in relation to Article 6.2 allows for the inclusion of non-greenhouse gas (GHG) metrics as an option for the internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs). While there are some provisions that call for further work on providing guidance on such metrics in the current draft text, there are fundamental concerns with regard to the integrity and effectiveness of such approaches.  
2019, December