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Has Joint Implementation reduced GHG emissions? Lessons learned for the design of carbon market mechanisms / A. Kollmuss, L. Schneider and V. Zhezherin. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2015, 128 p. (SEI Working Paper No. 2015-07) http://sei-international.org/publications?pid=2803This study systematically evaluates the environmental integrity of Joint Implementation (JI) in the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. The analysis indicates that about three-quarters of JI offsets are unlikely to represent additional emissions reductions. This suggests that the use of JI offsets may have enabled global GHG emissions to be about 600 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent higher than they would have been if countries had met their emissions domestically. Of the six largest project types assessed in more detail, the authors find only one – N2O abatement from nitric acid production – had overall high environmental integrity. The evaluation clearly shows that oversight of an international market mechanism by the host country alone is insufficient to ensure environmental integrity. The paper makes recommendations for the ongoing review of the JI Guidelines, for carbon markets generally, and for a new climate agreement.The impacts of climate change according to the IPCC / Richard S. J. Tol. Department of Economics, University of Sussex, Falmer, 2015, 18 p. (Working Paper Series ; N° 78-2015) https://ideas.repec.org/p/sus/susewp/7815.htmlAbstract : I assessed five statements in the Summary for Policy Makers (SPM) of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of Working Group II (WG2) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC’s assessment of the impacts of climate change on agriculture all but ignores human agency and human ingenuity. The statement in the SPM on violent conflict is much stronger than in the chapter and indeed the literature. AR5 ignores the literature on the impacts of climate change on cold-related mortality and morbidity. On poverty traps, WG2 reaches a conclusion that is not supported by the cited papers. The total impacts of climate change were assessed in four subsequent IPCC report. Although there are no statistically significant differences between the assessment periods in the underlying literature, the subsequent SPMs reach very different conclusions. In sum, the IPCC has yet to reach the quality that one would expect from a gold standard.Climate hero or villain? An Analysis of China's Plans for Low Carbon Transition / Joseph Curtin. Dublin : Institute of International and European Affairs, 2014, 34 p. http://www.iiea.com/blogosphere/climate-hero-or-villain-an-analysis-of-chinas-plans-for-low-carbon--transitionIn this report we look beyond the headlines, and presents an overview of China’s evolving response to the climate challenge. We address in turn China's:- Responsibility for climate change- Evolving international climate diplomacy- Domestic climate policy-making apparatus, including target setting, horizontal and vertical policy coordination, and MRV of emissions- Technology policy, focusing on coal, renewables and clean tech innovation- Progress towards nationwide pricing of carbonTaxe carbone : réussir la montée en régime après 2016 / Christian de Perthuis. Chaire économie du climat, août 2015, 6 p. (Policy Brief #7) http://www.chaireeconomieduclimat.org/publications/policy-briefs/policy-brief-7-taxe-carbone-reussir-la-montee-en-regime-apres-2016-par-christian-de-perthuis/Donner de la visibilité à une trajectoire de prix du carbone à long terme est une recommandation partagée par nombre d’économistes. Pour changer les comportements et réorienter les investissements, le signal prix doit en effet être anticipé par les acteurs économiques. L’inscription dans la loi sur la Transition Energétique d’un objectif de prix du carbone à l’horizon 2030 va donc dans le bon sens...