Global Covenant of Mayors, a dataset of GHG emissions for 6,200 cities in Europe and the Southern Mediterranean

Abstract. The Paris Agreement has underlined the role of cities in combating climate change. The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) is the largest international initiative dedicated to promoting climate action at a city level, covering globally over 10 000 cities and almost half the population of the European Union (EU) by end of March 2020. The fifth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report notes that there is a lack of comprehensive, consistent datasets of cities' greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventories. In order to partly address this gap, we present a harmonised, complete and verified dataset of GHG inventories for 6200 cities in European and Southern Mediterranean countries, signatories of the GCoM initiative. To complement the reported emission data, a set of ancillary data that have a direct or indirect potential impact on cities' climate action plans were collected from other datasets, supporting further research on local climate action and monitoring the EU 27 (the 27 member states of the EU) progress on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 on climate action. The dataset (Kona et al., 2020) is archived and publicly available with the DOI https://doi.org/10.2905/57A615EB-CFBC-435A-A8C5-553BD40F76C9.

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All change for climate change

10.7287/peerj.preprints.27982v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Tony R Walker

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

New York ◽

Global Warming ◽

United Nations ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Global Economy ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Intergovernmental Panel ◽

Ipcc Report ◽

Single Use

Governments, corporations and individuals all need to take immediate action to help change the global economy toward a circular economy. A circular economy which uses fewer resources and based on renewable clean technologies to help limit global warming to 1.5 °C. The 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report warned that limiting global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels would require current greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions to be cut in half by 2030. Yet actions by governments, corporations and individuals are lagging behind. Many countries are failing their obligations made under the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Even the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency set a 50% reduction target of GHG emissions for global shipping by 2050, but this falls short of the IPCC target by 20 years. The United Nations climate summit in New York this week (September 2019) needs to send a strong wake up call to the entire world for us all to change. Change makers like Greta Thunberg has already done that. Individual actions to change consumer behaviour can play a major role to help reduce GHG emissions. Even reducing use of single-use plastics (a petroleum derivative) and incineration can help reduce GHG emissions. GHG emissions from plastics could reach 15% of the global carbon budget by 2050 if not curbed. In Europe, plastic production and incineration emits an estimated ~400 million tonnes of CO2 per year. Therefore, reducing single-use plastic use could curb GHG emissions.

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All change for climate change

10.7287/peerj.preprints.27982 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Tony R Walker

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

New York ◽

Global Warming ◽

United Nations ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Global Economy ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Intergovernmental Panel ◽

Ipcc Report ◽

Single Use

Governments, corporations and individuals all need to take immediate action to help change the global economy toward a circular economy. A circular economy which uses fewer resources and based on renewable clean technologies to help limit global warming to 1.5 °C. The 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report warned that limiting global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels would require current greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions to be cut in half by 2030. Yet actions by governments, corporations and individuals are lagging behind. Many countries are failing their obligations made under the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Even the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency set a 50% reduction target of GHG emissions for global shipping by 2050, but this falls short of the IPCC target by 20 years. The United Nations climate summit in New York this week (September 2019) needs to send a strong wake up call to the entire world for us all to change. Change makers like Greta Thunberg has already done that. Individual actions to change consumer behaviour can play a major role to help reduce GHG emissions. Even reducing use of single-use plastics (a petroleum derivative) and incineration can help reduce GHG emissions. GHG emissions from plastics could reach 15% of the global carbon budget by 2050 if not curbed. In Europe, plastic production and incineration emits an estimated ~400 million tonnes of CO2 per year. Therefore, reducing single-use plastic use could curb GHG emissions.

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Welcome to Hydrogen—A New International and Interdisciplinary Open Access Journal of Growing Interest in Our Society

Hydrogen ◽

10.3390/hydrogen1010006 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 90-92

Author(s):

George E. Marnellos ◽

Thomas Klassen

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Open Access ◽

Open Access Journal ◽

Intergovernmental Panel ◽

Ipcc Report

The 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report [...]

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The Evolution of Communicating the Uncertainty of Climate Change to Policymakers: A Study of IPCC Synthesis Reports

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13052466 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 2466

Author(s):

Tomas Molina ◽

Ernest Abadal

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Economic Systems ◽

Intergovernmental Panel ◽

Call To Action ◽

The Public ◽

Level Of Confidence ◽

Ipcc Report ◽

Degree Of Certainty ◽

History Of ◽

Tackle Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports on climate change have served to alert both the public and policymakers about the scope of the predicted changes and the effects they would have on natural and economic systems. The first IPCC report was published in 1990, since which time a further four have been produced. The aim of this study was to conduct a content analysis of the IPCC Summaries for Policymakers in order to determine the degree of certainty associated with the statements they contain. For each of the reports we analyzed all statements containing expressions indicating the corresponding level of confidence. The aggregated results show a shift over time towards higher certainty levels, implying a “Call to action” (from 32.8% of statements in IPCC2 to 70.2% in IPCC5). With regard to the international agreements drawn up to tackle climate change, the growing level of confidence expressed in the IPCC Summaries for Policymakers reports might have been a relevant factor in the history of decision making.

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Focus on African wildlife protection will grow

Emerald Expert Briefings ◽

10.1108/oxan-db239872 ◽

2018 ◽

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Fossil Fuels ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Wildlife Trade ◽

Intergovernmental Panel ◽

Wildlife Protection ◽

Content Type ◽

Illegal Wildlife Trade ◽

Ipcc Report

Subject African illegal wildlife trade. Significance A recent UK-hosted conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) and a UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report have highlighted the importance of wildlife and wilderness protection in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and the integral connections between wildlife protection and climate change. Pressure is starting to grow on governments and businesses to protect irreplaceable biodiversity but progress faces several obstacles. Impacts The EU may increase aid for African biodiversity protection as climate change impacts risk increased African migrant numbers to Europe. Growing pressure may encourage institutional investors to divest from fossil fuels towards the renewable energy sector and ecotourism. Civil society pressure could mount to redirect global aid budgets partially towards wilderness landscape preservation. A South African ruling overturning government approval for a coal mine on critical biodiversity-protecting land may set a major precedent.

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The case for long-term studies of greenhouse gas emissions

Environmental Conservation ◽

10.1017/s0376892999000247 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 166-168 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

TIM NEWCOMB

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Greenhouse Gases ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Industrialized Countries ◽

Intergovernmental Panel ◽

Long Term Studies

Many nations have recognized the need to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The scientific assessments of climate change of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) support the need to reduce GHG emissions. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the 1992 Convention on Climate Change (UNTS 30822) has now been signed by more than 65 countries, although that Protocol has not yet entered into force. Some 14 of the industrialized countries listed in the Protocol face reductions in carbon dioxide emissions of more than 10% compared to projected 1997 carbon dioxide emissions (Najam & Page 1998).

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The International Influence of the Emissions Trading System in Mexico

Springer Climate - Towards an Emissions Trading System in Mexico: Rationale, Design and Connections with the Global Climate Agenda ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-82759-5_5 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 91-107

Author(s):

Alicia Gutierrez González

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽

Emissions Trading ◽

Carbon Tax ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Learning By Doing ◽

The European Union ◽

Trading System ◽

Reduce Carbon Dioxide ◽

Emissions Trading System

AbstractThis article aims to give an overview of the international influence of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) in Mexico. It is divided into three parts. First, it briefly examines both the international Climate Change regime through the description of such instruments as the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and the 2015 Paris Agreement, and the national regime by reviewing as the 2012 General Law on Climate Change (LGCC), the National Emissions Registry (RENE) and its Regulations, as well as other instruments regarding mitigation from carbon tax and clean energy. Second, it analyzes the legal framework of the pilot phase of the ETS in Mexico (under the cap and trade principle) which seeks to reduce carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) only in the energy and industry sectors whose emissions are greater than 100 thousand direct tonnes of CO2. In doing so, it also explains the relevance of implementing an ETS as a cost-effective mitigation measure to achieve the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in order to reduce 22% greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 (increasing to 36% if there is international support and financing) and 50% by 2050 as a developing country. Third, it focuses on the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) experience and shows that all its phases must be done gradually by adopting the learning-by-doing approach.

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China and Climate Change Governance: A Golden Opportunity

China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies ◽

10.1142/s2377740021500019 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Barry Buzan

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

The United States ◽

The European Union ◽

Climate Governance ◽

Policy Adjustment ◽

The World ◽

Golden Opportunity ◽

Climate Action ◽

Climate Crisis

Climate change is a threat to all of humankind, yet there is still a leadership vacuum on climate governance. At the same time, the deepening climate crisis also presents a golden opportunity for Beijing to assume the role of a global leader. China has the capacity to do it in a way that the United States, Russia, India, and the European Union do not. Taking swift climate action is in Beijing’s interest. Greater contributions to climate governance will certainly help advance China’s long-term political interest in both raising its political status and demonstrating the claimed superiority of its system of government. Positive rhetoric and robust action by China are likely to have a disproportionate effect on the rest of the world. Policy adjustment and implementation by Beijing will bring benefits to the rest of the world. Climate policy options that Beijing may take in the future are not mutually exclusive. The policy shift on climate change could also be attached more firmly to the idea of sustainable development as a defining factor of China’s approach to tackling the climate change threat.

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Experimental deformation of deuterated ice in 3D and 2D: identification of grain-scale processes

Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria ◽

10.1071/rs15011 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 127 (1) ◽

pp. 99 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Christopher J.L. Wilson ◽

Vladimir Luzin ◽

Sandra Piazolo ◽

Mark Peternell ◽

Daniel Hammes

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Grain Size ◽

Texture Evolution ◽

Ice Sheets ◽

Polar Ice ◽

Intergovernmental Panel ◽

Ice Caps ◽

Ipcc Report ◽

Polar Ice Sheets ◽

Ice Sheet Dynamics

Major polar ice sheets and ice caps experience cycles of variable flow during different glacial periods and as a response to past warming. The rate and localisation of deformation inside an ice body controls the evolution of ice microstructure and crystallographic fabric. This is critical for interpreting proxy signals for climate change, with deformation overprinting and disrupting stratigraphy deep under ice caps due to the nature of the flow. The final crystallographic fabric in polar ice sheets provides a record of deformation history, which in turn controls the flow properties of ice during further deformation and affects geophysical sensing of ice sheets. For example, identification of layering in ice sheets, using seismic or ice radar techniques, is attributed to grain size changes and fabric variations. Such information has been used to provide information on climate state and its changes over time, and as the Fourth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report (Solomon et al. 2007) points out there is currently still a lack of understanding of internal ice-sheet dynamics. To answer this we have recently conducted experiments at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) to collect fully quantitative microstructural data from polycrystalline heavy water (D2O) ice deformed in a dynamic regime. The ice and temperature (–7°C) chosen for this study is used as a direct analogue for deforming natural-water ice as it offers a unique opportunity to link grain size and texture evolution in natural ice at –10°C. Results show a dynamic system where steady-state rheology is not necessarily coupled to microstructural and crystallographic fabric stability. This link needs to be taken into account to improve ice-mass-deformation modelling critical for climate change predictions.

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