COP27: Preparatory analysis for the European Parliament – Climate targets far from sufficient

The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, from 6 to 18 November 2022. At the European Parliament’s request, the Oeko-Institut has compiled a clear and comprehensible summary of the issues to be negotiated at COP27. The study also provides a brief overview of the climate change mitigation efforts being made by the individual G20 countries and shows how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is affecting international climate policy.

At a time of extreme weather events and global uncertainties, ways must be found to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support developing countries’ adaptation to climate change.

Global stocktake: Climate targets far from sufficient

At COP27, a global stocktake (GST) will be conducted to assess current mitigation efforts against the goals of the Paris Agreement. The latest reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have revealed that rapid and far-reaching efforts are required to limit global warming to 1.5˚C. However, the mitigation ambition of the climate targets proposed by individual countries is far from sufficient. The IPCC has also shown that for each sector, there are solutions available that would enable greenhouse gas emissions to be substantially reduced by 2030.

COP27: The status of the negotiations

At the previous Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021, the international community was able to reach agreement on rules for international market mechanisms. However, many implementation issues will have to be addressed in further negotiations at Sharm El-Sheikh in order to ensure that these market mechanisms are capable of making a robust contribution to climate change mitigation.

Negotiators from the Oeko-Institut

Experts from the Oeko-Institut have been part of the German and European government delegations at the climate negotiations for many years, contributing to issues relating to reporting and transparency, international carbon markets and emissions reductions in international aviation and maritime transport.

Study: “The COP27 Climate Change Conference – Status of climate negotiations and issues at stake”, by the Oeko-Institut

The Oeko-Institut has produced studies on a wide range of international climate policy issues:

Reporting and transparency

Understanding the Transparency Guidance (Glasgow COP decision on transparency)

Accounting for Nationally Determined Contributions. Guidance for Accounting for NDCs with Greenhouse Gas Emissions Targets. Second edition — Updated for the provisions of the Katowice Rulebook and decisions taken at COP26 in Glasgow. Partnership on Transparency in the Paris Agreement. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

International carbon markets

Research article: “Double counting and the Paris Agreement rulebook”. In: Science, with input from the Oeko-Institut

Oeko-Institut, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) launched the Carbon Credit Quality Initiative (CCQI) with the aim of providing independent, user-friendly information on carbon credit quality.

Research article: “Visibility of carbon market approaches in greenhouse gas inventories”. In: Carbon Management

Synthesis article: “Environmental integrity of international carbon market mechanisms under the Paris Agreement”. In: Climate Policy

Article: “Averaging or multi-year accounting? Environmental integrity implications for using international carbon markets in the context of single-year targets”. In: Climate Policy

Ensuring safeguards and assessing sustainable development impacts in the voluntary carbon market

Sustainable development impacts of selected project types in the voluntary carbon market

Analysis of options for determining OMGE, SOP and Transition within Article 6. Implications of policy decisions for international crediting under the Paris Agreement. Climate Analytics, NewClimate Institute, Oeko-Institut, 2021

Research article: “Outside in? Using international carbon markets for mitigation not covered by nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement”. In: Climate Policy, with input from the Oeko-Institut

CDM supply potential for emission reductions up to the end of 2020. MU / IGES, NewClimate Institute, Oeko-Institut, November 2020.

Advancing multilateral cooperation on climate action. Ideas for new initiatives across four policy areas and how to use existing international venues as stepping stones

International aviation

Fit for purpose? Key issues for the first review of CORSIA

Blog post: “No safe landing: ICAO must adopt a more ambitious climate goal for international aviation”

Nature-based contributions to climate change mitigation

Nature-based solutions and global climate protection. Assessment of their global mitigation potential and recommendations for international climate policy

Options for multilateral initiatives to close the global 2030 climate ambition and action gap – Policy field forest protection

The Missing Limb: Including Impacts of Biomass Extraction on Forest Carbon Stocks in Greenhouse Gas Balances of Wood Use. In: Forests

Closing an open balance: The impact of increased tree harvest on forest carbon. In: Global Change Biology Bioenergy