A key element in the success of limiting mean global surface temperature rise to below 2°C will be transformation of the energy sector globally. In addition to implementing already-available options for more efficient use of energy and low-emissions energy supply, action is needed now to put in...

It is likely that a diverse range of nationally-determined mitigation contributions will be communicated by Parties under the 2015 climate change agreement. An effective post-2020 accounting framework to understand and track implementation of these mitigation contributions will therefore need to...

Shifting public and private investment from “brown” to “green” is an essential part of climate change. The post-2020 climate agreement to be agreed at COP 21 in December 2015 has the potential to play a significant role in signalling the importance of such a shift. This paper explores...

The aim of this paper is to explore what a flexible and durable 2015 climate change agreement could look like and propose pragmatic options for the design of such an agreement. A durable 2015 climate change agreement would continue to be ambitious, fair and effective in 2020 and beyond. An...

Governments are currently negotiating the elements of a new climate change agreement to be adopted at the forthcoming COP 21 conference in Paris in 2015. The aim of this paper is to take stock of existing UNFCCC institutions and arrangements and the inter-linkages between them in the areas of...

There is widespread recognition that climate finance needs to be scaled up from its current levels. However, there is no clear view on how developed countries can efficiently and effectively mobilise further climate finance to meet the needs of developing countries. Developed countries have...

Land management faces a series of daunting challenges in the 21st century. These include contributing to the global mitigation effort and adaptation needed to prevent dangerous climate change, while providing enough food for a population of 9 billion by 2050 as well as shelter and livelihoods...

At the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP) in 2010, developed countries formalised a collective climate finance commitment made previously in Copenhagen of “mobilising jointly USD 100 billion per year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries...from a wide variety of sources,...

A new international climate change agreement that will have legal force and be applicable to all countries is being negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The agreement is to be adopted by 2015 and come into effect from 2020. An...

Mitigation pledges put forward by countries under the UNFCCC process are "made to measure" in that they are tailored to fit each country's individual circumstances. However, the pledges also need to be made to be measured so that we have a full understanding of how the various commitments add up...