Technical steps will vex post-Paris climate agenda

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Emissions Reduction ◽  
Annual Conference ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
National Leader

Significance The Paris Agreement will enter into force on November 4, ahead of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) annual Conference of Parties (COP22) meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, which begins the following week. The two thresholds for entry into force -- more than 55 countries ratifying, accounting for 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions -- were met in early October. Impacts Activist states will continue to advance Paris-complementary measures in non-UNFCCC settings. The Paris Agreement's entry into force means that a signatory government can only withdraw in four years' time. However, a national leader willing to bear the diplomatic fallout could nevertheless undermine the pact through inaction and backsliding. The natural gas sector is a likely beneficiary of incremental international emissions reduction efforts.

Introduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Eelco J. Rohling
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Greenhouse Gases ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Emission Reduction ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Is Implementation

This chapter outlines the challenge facing us. The Paris Agreement sets a target maximum of 2°C global warming and a preferred limit of 1.5°C. Yet, the subsequent combined national pledges for emission reduction suffice only for limiting warming to roughly 3°C. And because most nations are falling considerably short of meeting their pledges, even greater warming may become locked in. Something more drastic and wide-ranging is needed: a multi-pronged strategy. These different prongs to the climate-change solution are introduced in this chapter and explored one by one in the following chapters. First is rapid, massive reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Second is implementation of ways to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Third may be increasing the reflectivity of Earth to incoming sunlight, to cool certain places down more rapidly. In addition, we need to protect ourselves from climate-change impacts that have already become inevitable.

scholarly journals Changing International Law for a Changing Climate

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 279-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel C. Esty ◽  
Dena P. Adler
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
National Governments

After more than two decades of inadequate international efforts to address climate change resulting from rising greenhouse gas emissions, the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement shifted gears. That agreement advances a “bottom-up” model of global cooperation that requires action commitments from all national governments and acknowledges the important role that cities, states, provinces, and businesses must play in delivering deep decarbonization. Given the limited control that presidents and prime ministers have over many of the policies and choices that determine their countries’ carbon footprints, the Paris Agreement missed an opportunity to formally recognize the climate change action commitments of mayors, governors, and premiers. These subnational officials often have authorities complementary to national governments, particularly in federal systems (including the United States, China, Canada, and Australia). They therefore possess significant independent capacities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through their economic development strategies, building codes, zoning rules and practices, public transportation investments, and other policies. Likewise, the world community missed an opportunity to formally recognize the commitments of companies to successful implementation of the Paris Agreement and thereby to highlight the wide range of decisions that business leaders make that significantly affect greenhouse gas emissions.

Vulnerable Regions in a Changing Climate

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Leichenko
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Planetary Systems ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Changing Climate

Economic geographers have made important contributions to the understanding of many facets of climate change, yet the field has had relatively limited engagement with the study of climate impacts, vulnerabilities, and adaptation. Instead, most work on the economic consequences of climate disruption is being done by researchers in other disciplines or in other subfields of geography. This chapter argues that broad recognition of humanity’s role in shaping Earth’s planetary systems, combined with new hope and opportunity engendered by the 2015 Paris Agreement on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, present a pivotal moment for economic geographers to take a more central role in the study of climate change and in broader, interdisciplinary conversations about the meaning and implications of the Anthropocene.

scholarly journals Solar energy policy to boost Brazilian power sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-367
Author(s):  
Juliana Pacheco Barbosa ◽  
Joisa Dutra Saraiva ◽  
Julia Seixas
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Power System ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Power Sector ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Incentive Mechanisms ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the opportunity for the energy policy in Brazil to tackle the very high cost-effectiveness potencial of solar energy to the power system. Three mechanisms to achieve ambitious reductions in the greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector by 2030 and 2040 are assessed wherein treated as solar targets under ambitious reductions in the greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector. Then, three mechanisms to achieve these selected solar targets are suggested. Design/methodology/approach This paper reviews current and future incentive mechanisms to promote solar energy. An integrated energy system optimization model shows the most cost-efficient deployment level. Incentive mechanisms can promote renewable sources, aiming to tackle climate change and ensuring energy security, while taking advantage of endogenous energy resources potential. Based on a literature review, as well as on the specific characteristics of the Brazilian power system, under restrictions for the expansion of hydroelectricity and ambitious limitation in the emissions of greenhouse gases from the power sector. Findings The potential unexploited of solar energy is huge but it needs the appropriate incentive mechanism to be deployed. These mechanisms would be more effective if they have a specific technological and temporal focus. The solar energy deployment in large scale is important to the mitigation of climate change. Originality/value The value of the research is twofold: estimations of the cost-effective potential of solar technologies, generated from an integrated optimization energy model, fully calibrated for the Brazilian power system, while tacking the increasing electricity demand, the expected reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the need to increase the access to clean and affordable energy, up to 2040; proposals of three mechanisms to deploy centralized PV, distributed PV and solar thermal power, taking the best experiences in several countries and the recent Brazilian cases.

From Paris to Poland

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-46
Author(s):  
Tim Cadman ◽  
Klaus Radunsky ◽  
Andrea Simonelli ◽  
Tek Maraseni
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Climate Justice ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Social Quality ◽  
United Nations Framework Convention

This article tracks the intergovernmental negotiations aimed at combatting human-induced greenhouse gas emissions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from COP21 and the creation of the Paris Agreement in 2015 to COP24 in Katowice, Poland in 2018. These conferences are explored in detail, focusing on the Paris Rulebook negotiations around how to implement market- and nonmarket-based approaches to mitigating climate change, as set out in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, and the tensions regarding the inclusion of negotiating text safeguarding human rights. A concluding section comments on the collapse of Article 6 discussions and the implications for climate justice and social quality for the Paris Agreement going forward.

scholarly journals The atmosphere, the Paris Agreement and global governance

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Macey
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
International Governance ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
New Model ◽  
Tackle Climate Change

The 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change set a remarkable precedent for speed of entry into force of a global treaty. With the threshold of 55 parties and 55% of greenhouse gas emissions being reached within a year of its adoption, the agreement entered into force before the following Conference of the Parties (COP22) in Marrakech (November 2016). By the end of COP22 there were over a hundred ratifications. This was both a vote of confidence in the agreement and a sign of the strong international commitment to tackle climate change. Less obvious is the fact that the agreement reflects a new model of international governance of climate change, in which the role of the central legal instrument has changed. It is yet to be tested, but these early signs of confidence augur well. 

Global agreement on carbon taxes is unlikely

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Carbon Tax ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Carbon Taxes ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Global Agreement

Subject Prospects for the introduction of a global carbon tax. Significance The decline in oil prices offers an opportunity to countries to introduce a carbon tax to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. The UN Climate Change Conference (COP 21), to be held in Paris in November and December, will seek a global agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and set a specific goal to achieve net zero emissions by a certain date. Yet there is little clarity on how this goal could be achieved and whether there will be agreement on setting a price for carbon. Impacts The oil price plunge will continue to divert attention away from the need to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and increase energy efficiency. Without a credible agreement at COP 21, containing climate change disruption will be difficult. For any climate agreement to be credible, its implementation process must be addressed in detail.

South Asian gas demand and imports are set to rise

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Liquefied Natural Gas ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Energy Mix ◽  
Gas Supply

Subject South Asia's gas use outlook. Significance Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is to assume much greater importance in the South Asian energy mix, aiding the control of greenhouse gas emissions growth, but creating new import dependencies. Impacts The development of LNG import infrastructure will reduce the focus on regional pipelines. Improved gas supply will boost industry, power generation and gas use in transportation. South Asia’s gas imports will rise.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document