Paris Agreement Compatible Sectoral Benchmarks Summary Report

The NewClimate Institute's summary report outlines Paris Agreement-compatible sectoral benchmarks for the power, transport, industry, and buildings sectors. It defines 'highest plausible ambition' targets for 2030 and 2050 to limit global temperature increase to 1.5°C, providing specific analysis for seven countries and the global level to guide government decarbonisation strategies.

• To align with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C goal, global net-zero CO2 emissions must be achieved by 2050, and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2070. All sectors must decarbonise by 2050, with significant progress required before 2030 to keep carbon budgets attainable.
• The power sector is a high priority for enabling other sectors to decarbonise. Benchmarks require emissions per unit of electricity to reach zero by 2040 (ideally) or 2050 (at the latest), with renewables or CO2-free technologies reaching 98-100% in the same timeframe. Coal must be phased out by 2030 in developed countries (EU-28 and USA) and by 2040 in developing countries and emerging economies.
• Transport benchmarks require low-carbon fuels (electricity, hydrogen, or biomass) to comprise 15-20% of the energy mix by 2030 and nearly 100% by 2050. Electric or zero-emission passenger vehicles should reach a 95% market share in developed countries by 2030 and 100% in almost all countries by 2040.

APA

NewClimate Institute (2020). Paris Agreement Compatible Sectoral Benchmarks Summary Report. https://climateactiontracker.org/documents/754/CAT_2020-07-10_ParisAgreementBenchmarks_SummaryReport.pdf

Chicago

NewClimate Institute. Paris Agreement Compatible Sectoral Benchmarks Summary Report. 2020. https://climateactiontracker.org/documents/754/CAT_2020-07-10_ParisAgreementBenchmarks_SummaryReport.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=NewClimate Institute |title=Paris Agreement Compatible Sectoral Benchmarks Summary Report |date=5 August 2020 |url=https://climateactiontracker.org/documents/754/CAT_2020-07-10_ParisAgreementBenchmarks_SummaryReport.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{newclimateinstitute2020paris, author = {{NewClimate Institute}}, title = {{Paris Agreement Compatible Sectoral Benchmarks Summary Report}}, institution = {NewClimate Institute}, year = {2020}, month = aug, url = {https://climateactiontracker.org/documents/754/CAT_2020-07-10_ParisAgreementBenchmarks_SummaryReport.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }