This report assesses the effect of recent low-carbon energy developments and the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) proposed so far.

The report finds that, while global energy-related emissions slow as a result of the climate pledges, they still increase. To compensate, it argues that governments will need to ramp up efforts, reviewing their pledges regularly, setting realistic and attainable longer-term goals and tracking their progress. The report also proposes the adoption of five measures that would achieve a near-term peak in global energy-related emissions while maintaining momentum for stronger national efforts.

With the approaching 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) – to be held in Paris in December 2015 – the report argues that the test of success will be the conviction it conveys that governments are determined to act to the full extent necessary to achieve their goals on global average temperatures. It highlights that energy will be at the core of this discussion as it accounts for two thirds of the world’s greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions.

[Adapted from source]