Policy Briefs
2024
ELEVATOR Pitch #2: Uncertainty of Net-Zero Emissions Formulations
The way net-zero goals are defined has significant implications for the timing and achievability of global and national climate goals.
Net-zero goals have become a commonly used climate policy pledge. Regardless of their popularity, there is no uniform definition of “net-zero”, leading to significant variability in how countries set their targets. The variation in these definitions can shift the timing of when net-zero is achieved by several decades, impacting the alignment of national targets with global climate objectives. Research from the ELEVATE project explores main factors that create this variability and what they mean for effective target setting.
ELEVATOR Pitch #1: Raising Policy Ambitions to Reduce Coal- and Gas-Fired Power Generation
The transition away from fossil fuels is significant in the global effort to reach the climate targets set by the Paris Agreement.
The ambition for the transition was confirmed in the First Global Stocktake decisions at COP28 in Dubai. While there is a scientific case and historical evidence for phasing out fossil fuel power plants, especially unabated coal power plants, the future of natural gas power generation is more uncertain. New research investigates the social, political, and institutional factors to identify the drivers for existing coal and gas phase-out, which can potentially inspire future policy designs.
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