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5巴黎气候谈判以来的最大变化

衡量高层次的国际政策的涓滴效应是不容易的。这是一个笨重的全球性问题尤其如此,如气候变化,这始终已被按下的地球面临挑战的洗衣清单。

这个星期,但是,已经准备好为在COP21联合国显着书立climate talksheld in Paris in December, which saw delegates from196 countries agreeto work toward limiting global average temperature increases to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius. Representatives from 155 of those countries areexpected to sign the agreement在纽约市,并使其官方周五,这也恰好是世界地球日。

但对于由于封闭木槌已经过去了五个月?

The real work of determining how to get anywhere near the 2-degree target — with 1.5 C being the threshold many advocates say will unleash devastation in vulnerable island and low-lying nations — ultimately will come down to individual national governments, businesses and members of civil society.

While much of the heavy lifting remains to be done, several significant indicators suggest that expediting clean energy deployment, bringing the private sector on board with climate action and hashing out who pays for climate adaptation (finally) are starring on the global stage.

1. Clean energy investment goes global

A primary sticking point heading into the Paris talks was how to balance the priorities of wealthy industrialized nations and poorer developing countries, the latter of which are expected to bear the brunt of accelerating climate impacts.

One encouraging sign: Clean energy investment datareleased last month彭博新能源财经显示,在可再生能源发电的支持最大的增长排在新兴经济体如中国($ 102.9十亿),印度($ 10.2十亿)和南非($ 4.5十亿)。在美国,尽管它的复杂气候政治,也没有看到资金增加了19个百分点。

Whether those figures are enough to truly start transitioning the world away from fossil fuels is still up for debate. Bloomberg found that European investment levels fell 21 percent to $48.8 billion. It is somewhat disconcerting that wealthy countries theoretically better positioned to make bigger investments are being outpaced.

2.大公司背清洁能源计划

苹果,谷歌,微软,亚马逊,宜家,火星 - 不,这不是世界上最引人注目的公司的名单。这是roster of businesses本月初签署了两个独立的Amici Curiae (PDF)briefs (PDF)申请美国巡回法院支持环保局的清洁能源计划。

Given that the intransigent partisan politics of the U.S. have been a big concern in the context of the global Paris Agreement, public pressure from the private sector — an act of policy advocacy thatgoes well beyond自我服务的持续营销 - 可竞彩足球app怎么下载能是一个改变游戏规则。现在,它是由美国法院对奥巴马政府试图减少有意义工业排放规则。

One interesting question in the meantime is whether businesses will drive a stake in the ground when it comes to state obstructionism to renewable energy, as他们这样做in calling off state investments due to regressive social policies.

A logistical issue that also remains to be solved for even climate-friendly companies: the extremely high financial barrier thatstill existsfor blockbuster utility-scale renewable energy projects, such as the$848 million solar investmentApple announced last year.

3.奥巴马提议对石油$ 10一桶税

Another surprise entry in the category of post-Paris actions in the U.S. was President Barack Obama's proposal for a$ 10一桶税on oil as part of clean transportation initiative unveiled in February.

The move, which predictably faced immediate backlash, came as broader debates overthe future of carbon pricing在辖区范围从俄勒冈州和纽约州的国家,包括中国和墨西哥爆发。

Still, it's important to keep in mind that the White House proposal fits into a longhistory of mixed messageson fossil fuels, the most notable being continued taxpayer subsidies of the oil and gas industries.

在煤炭编年史4.新的篇章

A week ago, the biggest coal company in the world申请第11章破产。当下是一个戏剧性的一个主要的美国公司,而是一个没有被完全震撼。

The bankruptcy of Peabody Energy is just one vivid example of the整体下跌of the coal industry, which has been at the center of debate over what to do about the prospect of large-scale"stranded assets"that could necessitate trillions of dollars worth of writedowns from fossil fuel companies in the event of stricter carbon regulations.

With gas prices just starting to climb again, it remains to be seen whether other energy incumbents will see a similar twist in fate. On the bright side: the largely untapped opportunity to再培训前煤矿工人重新利用以前的煤炭基础设施在追求新的清洁能源系统。

5. Cities and states aim to go 100 percent renewable

崛起“次国家”气候行动 - 可持续性书呆子发言在国家和市级气候变化的响应 - 是在巴黎会竞彩足球app怎么下载谈之后几大发展带动其它长期趋势预示着。

在2015年中期,夏威夷成为第一个美国国家to establish a 100 percent renewable aim for 2045. Just before the New Year, San Diego — the eighth largest city in the country —设定一个目标to complete a shift to clean power by 2035.

Watch the fine print of these goals and others likely to emerge in the coming months to see how different jurisdictions approach issues such as natural gas as a低于理想bridge fuel, as well as who will win ownership of large new energy installations, and how sectors with large carbon footprints (点菜transportation) are treated by policymakers.

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