Featured
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Carbon pricing and system reliability impacts on pathways to universal electricity access in Africa
This study investigates the role of off-grid solar in achieving SDG7 in Africa, focusing on understanding the impact of carbon pricing and supply reliability. It uses high-resolution spatial analysis and demand modelling to explore policy interventions for universal electricity access.
- Hamish Beath
- , Shivika Mittal
- & Ajay Gambhir
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Article
| Open Access
Systematic review and meta-analysis of ex-post evaluations on the effectiveness of carbon pricing
Carbon pricing policies are adopted in many countries around the world to mitigate climate change. This systematic review shows that significant emission reductions of between 5 and 21% are achieved by at least 17 out of 21 reviewed policy schemes.
- Niklas Döbbeling-Hildebrandt
- , Klaas Miersch
- & Jan C. Minx
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| Open Access
Public engagement for inclusive and sustainable governance of climate interventions
Meaningful public engagement is key to sustainable governance of carbon removal and solar radiation modification. A study across 22 countries emphasizes tailored approaches sensitive to local contexts, technological nuances, power dynamics and trust.
- Livia Fritz
- , Chad M. Baum
- & Benjamin K. Sovacool
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The differential impact of climate interventions along the political divide in 60 countries
A major barrier to climate mitigation is the political polarization of climate change. Here, the authors examine which of several interventions increase people’s climate policy support and climate action across ideological boundaries.
- Michael Berkebile-Weinberg
- , Danielle Goldwert
- & Madalina Vlasceanu
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Compensating affected parties necessary for rapid coal phase-out but expensive if extended to major emitters
When countries phase out coal, they compensate affected companies, communities and workers. Today more than $200 billion are allocated for such payoff, but much larger amount will be needed if China and India also phase out coal to tackle climate change.
- Lola Nacke
- , Vadim Vinichenko
- & Jessica Jewell
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Public perceptions on carbon removal from focus groups in 22 countries
Global public expectations for carbon removal governance are: engagement beyond acceptance research; regulating industry beyond incentivizing innovation; systemic coordination; and prioritizing underlying and interrelated causes of unsustainability.
- Sean Low
- , Livia Fritz
- & Benjamin K. Sovacool
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Comment
| Open Access
Integrating science and the arts to deglobalise climate change adaptation
Setting goals that are context-specific, relevant, and collectively shared is critical in adaptation. As necessary elements in target setting, imaginaries for adaptation and the language connected to them remain vague. Visuals produced through art-science collaborations can be great allies to (de)construct imaginaries and deglobalise discourses of adaptation.
- Marta Olazabal
- , Maria Loroño-Leturiondo
- & Josune Urrutia
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Increase in concerns about climate change following climate strikes and civil disobedience in Germany
Climate movements aim to raise public awareness of climate change through protests, but their efficacy is debated. Here, the authors show that concerns about climate change increased in Germany after climate strikes and non-violent acts of civil disobedience.
- Johannes Brehm
- & Henri Gruhl
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Perspective
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Engineering biology and climate change mitigation: Policy considerations
Engineering biology is a dynamic field that uses gene editing, synthesis, assembly, and engineering to design new or modified biological systems. Here the authors discuss the policy considerations and interventions needed to support a role for engineering biology in climate change mitigation.
- Jonathan Symons
- , Thomas A. Dixon
- & Isak S. Pretorius
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The atlas of unburnable oil for supply-side climate policies
The global atlas of unburnable oil shows that the most socio-environmentally sensitive areas, such as protected areas or biodiversity hotspots, need to be kept entirely off-limits to oil extraction in order to keep global warming under 1.5 °C.
- Lorenzo Pellegrini
- , Murat Arsel
- & Martí Orta-Martínez
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Trade-offs in land-based carbon removal measures under 1.5 °C and 2 °C futures
This study demonstrates how land-based carbon removals and the market-mediated responses are sensitive to mitigation policy strength and scope, illustrating that, despite trade-offs, both forestation and BECCS are integral to cost-effective 2 °C pathways.
- Xin Zhao
- , Bryan K. Mignone
- & Haewon C. McJeon
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Article
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Limited impact of hydrogen co-firing on prolonging fossil-based power generation under low emissions scenarios
Effects of hydrogen and ammonia co-firing with fossil power generation on decarbonization scenario are assessed. Co-fired generation is limited to <1% because of higher cost of hydrogen. It will not delay the phase-out of fossil-based generators.
- Ken Oshiro
- & Shinichiro Fujimori
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CCl4 emissions in eastern China during 2021–2022 and exploration of potential new sources
The Montreal Protocol globally phased out ozone-layer depleting CCl4 by 2010. However, atmospheric measurements show eastern China emitted ~7.6 gigagrams/year in 2021–2022. Further, industrial sources of ongoing CCL4 emissions are identified.
- Bowei Li
- , Jiahuan Huang
- & Xuekun Fang
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Exploring negative emission potential of biochar to achieve carbon neutrality goal in China
Authors analyze the potential of biochar in China, revealing it could sequester up to 0.92 billion tons of CO2 per year with an average net cost of US$90 per ton of CO2 in a sustainable manner, supporting carbon neutrality goal by 2060.
- Xu Deng
- , Fei Teng
- & Pan Wang
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Greenhouse gas emissions from US irrigation pumping and implications for climate-smart irrigation policy
This study demonstrates the energy use of US pump irrigation produced 12.6 million tonnes CO2e in 2018, with spatial variability modulated by water source and fuel choice. These county-level estimates can inform strategic irrigation expansion and emissions reduction efforts.
- Avery W. Driscoll
- , Richard T. Conant
- & Nathaniel D. Mueller
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Modelling six sustainable development transformations in Australia and their accelerators, impediments, enablers, and interlinkages
Global research has identified six critical transformations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Here, Allen et al model all six transformations in a national context and discuss implications for accelerating progress on the goals.
- Cameron Allen
- , Annabel Biddulph
- & Shirin Malekpour
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Approaching national climate targets in China considering the challenge of regional inequality
Aggressive or uniform actions on climate targets may exacerbate regional inequality and induce economic losses in China. The proposed collaborative strategy for carbon neutrality can avoid up to 1.54% of GDP losses while 90% of provinces would gain.
- Biying Yu
- , Zihao Zhao
- & Hua Liao
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Projecting future carbon emissions from cement production in developing countries
The rapid deployment of low-carbon measures is urgently needed to reduce cement emissions as cement CO2 emissions from developing countries will almost deplete the remaining cement emissions budget within climate targets.
- Danyang Cheng
- , David M. Reiner
- & Dabo Guan
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Deploying green hydrogen to decarbonize China’s coal chemical sector
The coal chemical sector uses coal to produce chemicals and emits substantial greenhouse gases, which are hard to abate by electrification alone. Deploying green H2 for China’s coal chemical plants can reduce ~50% of emissions at a low cost.
- Yang Guo
- , Liqun Peng
- & Denise L. Mauzerall
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The social costs of tropical cyclones
The estimates of the societal costs of carbon currently used for policy evaluations may be too low due to an insufficient representation of tropical cyclone damage. Accounting for them substantially increases the estimated benefits of climate change mitigation measures.
- Hazem Krichene
- , Thomas Vogt
- & Christian Otto
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Decarbonization potential of electrifying 50% of U.S. light-duty vehicle sales by 2030
Electric vehicle sales goals alone will not achieve light duty vehicle emissions targets. Other actions including decarbonizing the electric grid, mode shifting, vehicle downsizing, reducing travel demand, and accelerating fleet turnover, are needed.
- Maxwell Woody
- , Gregory A. Keoleian
- & Parth Vaishnav
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Circular wood use can accelerate global decarbonisation but requires cross-sectoral coordination
Cascading and especially circular wood uses enhance climate-change mitigation achieved by forestry. In combination, these measures could cumulatively mitigate 258.8 million tonnes CO2e by 2050 in the UK but implementation barriers must be overcome.
- Eilidh J. Forster
- , John R. Healey
- & David Styles
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Concentration of asset owners exposed to power sector stranded assets may trigger climate policy resistance
Von Dulong analyzes owners and incidence of asset stranding in the power sector globally. She shows that Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the US are highly exposed to stranded assets, especially coal plants and explores the linkages between asset stranding and climate policy resistance.
- Angelika von Dulong
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Achieving decent living standards in emerging economies challenges national mitigation goals for CO2 emissions
Achieving decent living standards for global emerging economies is estimated to lead to an additional 8.6 Gt of CO2 emission with more than half of emerging economies emitting additional CO2 more than the value of their emission reduction commitments
- Jingwen Huo
- , Jing Meng
- & Dabo Guan
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Costs and health benefits of the rural energy transition to carbon neutrality in China
Electric cooking and air-to-air heat pump adoption in China advances carbon neutrality and the rural energy transition, with the transformation costs offset by monetized health benefits in most provinces.
- Teng Ma
- , Silu Zhang
- & Yang Xie
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Global fossil fuel reduction pathways under different climate mitigation strategies and ambitions
An analysis of the IPCC AR6 scenarios database explores how quickly coal, oil, and gas production and use should be reduced in line with net-zero goals, and points to the need to adopt phase-out benchmarks alongside other climate mitigation targets.
- Ploy Achakulwisut
- , Peter Erickson
- & Steve Pye
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How climate policy commitments influence energy systems and the economies of US states
In the US, states vary in their efforts to address climate change. Stronger state climate policies reduce CO2 emissions without harming the economy, but these reductions are unlikely to meet the goals in the Paris Climate Accord.
- Parrish Bergquist
- & Christopher Warshaw
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The narrowing gap in developed and developing country emission intensities reduces global trade’s carbon leakage
International trade redistributes production activities to regions with varying emission intensities. This study finds that the convergence of emission intensities between the global South - North and changes in trade patterns have resulted in declining net emissions in trade in the past decade.
- Jing Meng
- , Jingwen Huo
- & Kuishuang Feng
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A research and development investment strategy to achieve the Paris climate agreement
Timely R&D investment in green technologies lowers mitigation costs with positive employment effects. Carbon revenues are sufficient to finance the additional R&D investment and generate economic benefits.
- Lara Aleluia Reis
- , Zoi Vrontisi
- & Massimo Tavoni
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Hidden delays of climate mitigation benefits in the race for electric vehicle deployment
The climate benefits of battery electric vehicles relative to internal combustion engine vehicles are favorable but usually delayed. The authors show the delay threshold in China and call for more attention to the temporal characteristics of climate benefits.
- Yue Ren
- , Xin Sun
- & Xinzhu Zheng
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Value chain carbon footprints of Chinese listed companies
A paper led by Prof. Zhang evaluates the value chain carbon footprints of Chinese listed companies. The results could encourage collaborative climate actions along value chains and help investors understand the environmental impacts of their investment.
- Zengkai Zhang
- , Jiaoyan Li
- & Dabo Guan
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Overcoming global inequality is critical for land-based mitigation in line with the Paris Agreement
In a world of deepening inequalities, climate polices might be feasible in high-income countries only. Here the authors find that overcoming global inequality through sustainable socio-economic development is critical for land-based mitigation in line with the Paris Agreement.
- Florian Humpenöder
- , Alexander Popp
- & Quentin Lejeune
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Comment
| Open Access
Challenging the financial capture of urban greening
Financing of urban greening has traditionally prioritized economic growth. Here the authors argue for action to ensure more socially just green financing.
- Melissa García-Lamarca
- , Isabelle Anguelovski
- & Kayin Venner
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Improving public support for climate action through multilateralism
A new study reports survey-experimental results suggesting that multilateral approaches to climate action increase domestic carbon tax approval. The appeal of multilateralism reflects improved sustainability beliefs about effectiveness, fairness, and reciprocity.
- Michael M. Bechtel
- , Kenneth F. Scheve
- & Elisabeth van Lieshout
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US cities increasingly integrate justice into climate planning and create policy tools for climate justice
Climate justice is rising: large cities in the U.S. are increasingly integrating justice into their climate mitigation plans and pioneer cities are developing tools to operationalize just climate policies on the ground.
- Claudia V. Diezmartínez
- & Anne G. Short Gianotti
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Comparing the levelized cost of electric vehicle charging options in Europe
Charging costs are important for the diffusion of electric vehicles as required to decarbonize transport. Here, the authors show large variance of electrical vehicle charging costs across 30 European countries and charging options, suggesting different policy options to reduce charging costs.
- Lukas Lanz
- , Bessie Noll
- & Bjarne Steffen
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Article
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Co-benefits of CO2 emission reduction from China’s clean air actions between 2013-2020
China’s clean air action stimulated a net accumulative reduction of 2.43 Gt CO2 emission from 2013-2020. Phase-out and upgrades of outdated, polluting, and inefficient combustion facilities have promoted the transition of the country’s energy system.
- Qinren Shi
- , Bo Zheng
- & Qiang Zhang
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Increased energy use for adaptation significantly impacts mitigation pathways
A new study characterizes adaptation in mitigation pathways, and shows that climate adaptation can lead to higher energy demand, power system costs and carbon prices, with mitigation’s benefits compensating decarbonization costs.
- Francesco Pietro Colelli
- , Johannes Emmerling
- & Enrica De Cian
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Americans experience a false social reality by underestimating popular climate policy support by nearly half
A new study finds that Americans underestimate how many are concerned about climate change as well as support for major climate policies by nearly half, with climate policy supporters significantly outnumbering non-supporters.
- Gregg Sparkman
- , Nathan Geiger
- & Elke U. Weber
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Efficient use of cement and concrete to reduce reliance on supply-side technologies for net-zero emissions
A new study finds supply-side efforts alone are unlikely to lead to net-zero emissions across the cement and concrete cycle by 2050, advocating for more efficient use of cement and concrete in the built environment and more strategic options for decarbonization.
- Takuma Watari
- , Zhi Cao
- & Keisuke Nansai
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Contrasting suitability and ambition in regional carbon mitigation
New study finds geographical mismatch in cross-regional ranking between cost and benefit of carbon mitigation, as well as spatial mismatch between relative suitability of mitigation and mitigation ambition of emitters.
- Yu Liu
- , Mingxi Du
- & Klaus Hubacek
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Green gentrification in European and North American cities
The relationship between new greenspaces and gentrification is an important one for urbanization. Here the authors show a positive relationship for at least one decade between greening in the 1990s–2000s and gentrification that occurred between 2000–2016 in 17 of 28 studied cities in North America and Europe.
- Isabelle Anguelovski
- , James J. T. Connolly
- & Joaquin Martinez Minaya
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Cross-cutting scenarios and strategies for designing decarbonization pathways in the transport sector toward carbon neutrality
New study shows how region-specific policy under the Avoid–Shift–Improve framework may aid in realizing a deep decarbonization in the transport sector and assist in achieving China’s carbon neutrality goals.
- Runsen Zhang
- & Tatsuya Hanaoka
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COVID-19, Green Deal and recovery plan permanently change emissions and prices in EU ETS Phase IV
This paper finds that the EU’s 2030 reduction target of -55% might correspond to EU ETS allowance prices between 45 and 94 e/ton CO2 today, while the invalidation rule reduces carbon emissions to 14.2 to 18.3 GtCO2 over the EU ETS’ remaining lifetime.
- Kenneth Bruninx
- & Marten Ovaere
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Article
| Open Access
Consistent cooling benefits of silvopasture in the tropics
A new study shows that tropical silvopasture systems can provide significant cooling services for local communities, and identifies where these silvopasture systems can most effectively counteract global climate change to help communities adapt to warming.
- Lucas R. Vargas Zeppetello
- , Susan C. Cook-Patton
- & Yuta J. Masuda
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| Open Access
Vegetation-based climate mitigation in a warmer and greener World
Vegetation changes have been suggested as a climate mitigation option, but the numerous feedbacks between vegetation and climate are not well understood. Here, the authors show that greening leads to surface cooling in many areas, but the size of the effect depends on the background climate.
- Ramdane Alkama
- , Giovanni Forzieri
- & Alessandro Cescatti
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Article
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Carbon tax acceptability with information provision and mixed revenue uses
Public acceptability of carbon taxation is vital for its implementation. Here, the authors show that spending all revenues on climate projects, rather than mixing them, is the most acceptable policy, while information provision only increases acceptability for a carbon tax with unspecified revenues.
- Sara Maestre-Andrés
- , Stefan Drews
- & Jeroen van den Bergh
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Article
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Location-specific co-benefits of carbon emissions reduction from coal-fired power plants in China
Spatially nuanced policies are necessary for maximising co-benefits of carbon-emissions reduction from coal-fired power plants. Here the authors present an approach integrating costs of CO2 and air pollution emissions to better understand social costs of electricity generation from coal burning in China.
- Pu Wang
- , Cheng-Kuan Lin
- & Tong Wu
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Global roll-out of comprehensive policy measures may aid in bridging emissions gap
Comprehensive policy measures are needed to close the emissions gap between Nationally Determined Contributions and emissions goals of the Paris Agreement. Here the authors present a Bridge scenario that may aid in closing the emissions gap by 2030.
- Heleen L. van Soest
- , Lara Aleluia Reis
- & Detlef P. van Vuuren
On the potential of vehicle-to-grid and second-life batteries to provide energy and material security