greenhouse gas reduction

Starting on November 10th — 10 years after the Paris Agreement—the international community will once again negotiate the future of global climate action. This time, the talks will take place on the banks of the Amazon in Belém, Brazil, a symbolic location. The focus will be on new national climate action contributions and the measurability of adaptation progress.

The outcomes of the World Climate Change Conference in Baku (COP29) have caused disappointment both in Baku and worldwide. Nevertheless, they still contribute to the international climate action process – an achievement that cannot be taken for granted given the current geopolitical situation.

On 11 November 2024, this year's UN Climate Change Conference COP29 will start in Baku (Azerbaijan). The main topics are climate finance and progress in implementing ambitious climate action. UBA experts are also part of the German delegation and are supporting the German government and the EU in the negotiations.

Climate action in the agricultural sector is complex. It becomes even more complex when looking at the many different national, regional, climatic, cultural and political circumstances of agriculture around the world. Greenhouse gas reduction and climate adaptation, food security, biodiversity, land rights and land use conflicts must all be considered together.

Parties to the Paris Agreement are updating their plans for climate action. Less than half of the countries analysed as part of a project funded by the German Environment Agency are increasing their ambition. Many are lacking a clear plan for implementation. This is the result of a new methodology, which analyses 20 recently submitted Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

A research project for the German Environment Agency investigates options for multilateral initiatives of G20 countries to close the climate ambition gap between insufficient current policies and contributions and the goals of the Paris Agreement by 2030. The policy fields energy transition, synthetic e-fuels, sustainable food systems and forest protection are at the spotlight of the analysis.

According to the IPCC, global warming must be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius in order to mitigate the risks. An UBA position paper outlines how the EU climate policy could be aligned with this goal. Already by 2020, the parties to the Paris Agreement are to submit their updated national climate contribution to limit global warming. Up to now, far less has been promised than would be necessary.

The sum of greenhouse gas emission reductions from Parties to the UNFCCC is not enough to limit the level of global temperature rise to below either the 1.5°C or 2°C target. All Parties are therefore compelled to strengthen their reduction targets. The German Environment Agency (UBA) has commissioned an analysis of the institutional set up and challenges in ten selected countries.