Klimawissenschaft

The poorest populations in the Global South are fighting against the yet unforeseeable consequences of the coronavirus and the impacts of climate change simultaneously. They urgently need support in building resilience to the health and climate crises and in dealing with unavoidable climate impacts.

The outcome of the World Climate Conference (COP25) in Madrid, held 2 to 15 December 2019, clearly shows the strengths and weaknesses of the Paris Agreement. It shows that the days of cosmetic climate policy are over, but also that the coordinated resistance of the brakemen is growing as a result.

Published annually since 2005, the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) is an independent monitoring tool for tracking the climate protection performance of 57 countries and the EU. It aims to enhance transparency in international climate politics and enables comparison of climate protection efforts and progress made by individual countries.

This brochure explains the background and methodology of the Climate Change Performance Index. compares 57 countries and the EU in the areas of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Renewable Energies, Energy Use and Climate Policy, thus providing a comprehensive overview of the current efforts and progress of the countries analysed. Besides, it measures how well countries are on track to meet the global goals of the Paris Agreement by evaluating the current status and future targets of each category with reference to a well-below 2°C pathway.

Under the motto "Time to act", the 25th Conference of the Parties (COP25) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place from 2 to 13 December 2019 in Madrid, Spain, under Chile's presidency. After all, it is finally time for action in the logic of the UN negotiations. Following the decisions of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 and its implementation rules last year, nothing stands in the way of decisive action.

The G20 countries are responsible for around 80 % of global greenhouse gas emissions, and 85 % of global GDP. In the G20 countries, around 70 % of climate impacts could be avoided by limiting global warming to 1.5°C instead of 3°C. The G20 have a political responsibility as well as economic interest and capability to move the world towards a 1.5°C compatible pathway.

Carbon emissions from the world’s 20 biggest economies are rising. None of the G20 countries have plans that will put them on track to limit global warming to 1.5°C, despite the fact that most are technically capable and have economic incentives. To keep the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal within reach, G20 countries will have to increase their 2030 emission targets by 2020 and significantly scale up mitigation, adaptation and finance over the next decade.

The CCPI is an independent monitoring tool of countries' climate protection performance. It aims to enhance transparency in international climate politics and enables the comparability of climate protection efforts and progress made by individual countries. Based on standardised criteria, the index evaluates and compares the climate protection performance of 56 countries and the EU, which are together responsible for more than 90 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Der Allianz Klima- und Energiemonitor vergleicht die G20-Staaten hinsichtlich ihrer Attraktivität für Investitionen in eine emissionsfreie Energie-Infrastruktur. Zudem berechnet er den momentanen und künftigen Investitionsbedarf – davon ausgehend, dass die Klimaziele des Pariser Abkommens, deutlich unter 2 Grad bzw. möglichst 1,5 Grad Erwärmung, eingehalten werden sollen. Der Monitor wurde zum dritten Mal von der Allianz SE in Kooperation mit Germanwatch und dem NewClimate Institute erstellt.

The 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) will be held from 2 to 14 December 2018 in Katowice, Poland. The task for this summit is to show that, even with political headwinds, the international community is able to respond to the increased urgency of the climate crisis. With a package of three decisions, COP24 will be a success. In this Background Paper, Germanwatch sums up its expectations towards COP24.