Offsetting emissions is fraught with problems and critics fear these programmes could distract from the real goal of keeping fossil fuels in the ground
Plans to plant and protect trees and an initiative to scale up voluntary carbon markets could result in missed climate targets
POPULAR PLAN Offset programmes are becoming a popular way for businesses to claim progress in reducing emissions from their activities
CALCULATION CONCERN Quantifying the level of emissions offset by nature-based solutions is still not an exact science
KEY QUOTE In principle, offsets can be an effective strategy to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement… although there can be big challenges when it comes to implementation ...
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The world’s development banks are funnelling ever-greater volumes of finance into clean energy — but the challenge of shifting entire economies away from climate-wrecking activity and towards actions that align investment goals with those of the Paris Agreement requires a more holistic approach
Voluntary agreements, instead of, or in conjunction with, regulation, are becoming the norm in many parts of the world to reduce wasted energy in various consumer sectors
With the world facing an energy and a biodiversity emergency, realisation is growing that solutions need to be made compatible with sustainability in both areas
Cities are increasing their levels of ambition when taking climate action, and obtaining significant reductions in carbon emissions. But if cities want to drive the change needed to keep warming below the 1.5°C threshold, truly ambitious plans should be the norm not a novelty, writes Pernille Jægerfelt Mouritsen, Project Manager at Nordic Sustainability and Editor of the Cities100 report
Pollution is causing seagrass growing on our ocean floors to retreat. Scientists believe the habitat could be an important carbon sink and are working to restore it
There is no clear definition of climate neutrality despite 117 cities worldwide setting it as a target in the coming decades. Where Paris will include all emissions it produces, regardless of the sector or source, Copenhagen only calculates CO2 emissions related to heating and electricity. But both will claim to be neutral. This results in different levels of ambition, says Raphael Hasenknopf from Energy Cities