It is undoubtedly a challenge for climate policy actors to identify reliable evidence to support sound decision-making processes for tackling climate issues effectively. Still, differentiating between fact and fiction, well-designed and invalid science, evidence- or interest-based arguments is precisely what determines the quality of climate policies.
At the Paris Climate Conference held in December 2015, 195 countries adopted the Paris Agreement – the first universal, legally binding global climate deal. The signatory parties committed themselves to a global action plan that aims to keep global warming to well below 2°C and to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5°C.
The European Union has long played a leadership role in climate diplomacy. One challenging development for future EU climate diplomacy is the centrality of technology in contemporary global interventions to deal with climate change and promote sustainable energy. Challenges and opportunities in this field of action were central to a workshop hosted by the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) in partnership with the Transnational Law Institute (TLI) of the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London, and Fondation Jean-Jaurès.
A low-emission transition will require profound changes in terms of infrastructure, business models as well as individual habits. In order to support this process adelphi, WiseEuropa and the Institute for Sustainable Development launched a Polish-German discussion on the benefits of a low-emission economy for local development. The discussion paper draws on this exchange, and offers a basis for further reflection about selected benefits based on evidence from Germany and Poland.
In this report, Luca Bergamaschi, Nick Mabey, Jonathan Gaventa and Camilla Born from E3G explore practical actions that EU foreign policy institutions could undertake to manage climate risk and an orderly global transition. Read on for a summary of the report here.
This paper by Sebastian Oberthür (IES – Institute for European Studies) discusses the EU’s position in climate geopolitics after COP21. It therefore highlights the importance of fora beyond the UNFCCC, arguing that the EU’s position in climate geopolitics will in large part depend its internal climate and energy policy framework for 2030 and beyond.
Planning for India’s energy future requires addressing multiple and simultaneous economic, social and environmental challenges. While there has been conceptual progress towards harnessing their synergies, there are limited methodologies available for operationalizing a multiple objective framework for development and climate policy.
This Briefing Paper by Sharon Turner, Quentin Genard, Josh Robers and Imke Luebbeke reacts to the various visions of European energy and climate policies after 2020 that were presented by the European Commission and EU Member States until mid-2015.
This special report by the International Energy Agency, part of the World Energy Outlook series, offers an analysis of climate action from an energy sector perspective.