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The Clean Air Task Force views the EPA's proposed methane standards for new and modified oil and gas sources as a positive first step but argues they are insufficient to meet national greenhouse gas reduction targets. While praising the direct regulation of methane under the Clean Air Act and the implementation of leak detection and repair (LDAR) requirements, CATF recommends mandating controls for omitted equipment like liquids unloading operations and increasing LDAR inspection frequency. Crucially, the document highlights that the proposal fails to address existing sources, which are projected to account for 90 percent of methane emissions by 2018.

The report examines the co-benefits of climate action within the framework of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and identifies the potential benefits lost by not transitioning to 100% renewable energy by 2050, focusing on a selection of major economies.

The document warns that 11 gigatonnes of 'hot air' credits—resulting from overestimated emissions and low-quality projects under the Kyoto Protocol—threaten the ambition of the Paris agreement. It proposes that these credits should not be carried over into the compliance period starting in 2020 and that strict eligibility rules should limit the use of market mechanisms to parties with ambitious reduction goals.

The document outlines Indonesia's climate ambitions, including a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 26%–41% by 2020 and a moratorium on logging in primary forests and peatlands. It highlights the role of the Indonesia Climate Change Trust Fund as a mechanism for overseas climate finance and describes CDKN's efforts to support climate-compatible development in the energy sector and forest conservation research.

The report argues that Brazil's historical land abundance led to a misallocation of resources and land-intensive agricultural models. However, it demonstrates that productivity gains can be achieved without further deforestation by converting degraded pastures to crops and improving technology dissemination, credit access, and infrastructure. It highlights the success of the PPCDAm and DETER system in reducing Amazon deforestation but warns of new challenges, such as smaller-scale clearings and deforestation shifting to areas outside the Amazon and around protected zones.

The paper identifies double issuance and double claiming as the primary forms of double counting of emission reductions under the UNFCCC and argues that preventing these requires international coordination across unit accounting, mechanism design, and tracking and reporting.

Japan has committed to reducing emissions 26 percent below 2013 levels by 2030, a target the World Resources Institute describes as one of the least aggressive among developed nations. While Japan has a long-term goal of an 80 percent reduction below 1990 levels by 2050, the 2030 target is inconsistent with this path and relies on fossil fuels for 56 percent of its energy supply. The document notes that Japan could achieve higher reductions through renewable energy and efficiency, and highlights risks associated with the use of international carbon credits and the continued investment in coal-fired power plants.

This report details a Carbon Market Watch webinar on Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs), emphasizing the role of civil society in ensuring sustainability and accountability. It highlights that while 162 NAMAs are in the pipeline, there are currently no agreed rules for stakeholder engagement. The report presents case studies from Mexico, where a low-emission school pilot empowered youth, and Georgia, where a gender-sensitive NAMA focused on energy-efficient stoves reduced rural poverty and improved gender equality.

The paper argues that while supply chain traceability is a necessary first step, it is insufficient for achieving large-scale sustainability. Instead, it advocates for a 'landscape management approach'—managing agricultural production and ecosystem protection across connected areas of land rather than on a plantation-by-plantation basis. This strategy involves five key steps: defining landscape boundaries, partnering with government and business, allocating land to its highest value use, increasing productivity, and monitoring results. The document highlights a pilot project in Sei Mangkei, North Sumatra, and identifies significant opportunities to utilize degraded lands in North Sumatra and Central Kalimantan to reduce deforestation pressure.

The policy brief examines the potential for linking the EU ETS with other carbon markets, specifically focusing on ongoing negotiations with Switzerland. It argues that while linking can increase cost-efficiency, it risks reducing overall emissions abatement, lowering domestic investment, and undermining the EU's target of at least 40% domestic emissions reductions by 2030. The author highlights a lack of transparency and democratic oversight in current linking procedures and recommends that any future linking be accompanied by increased EU emission targets and strict criteria regarding target stringency, the use of offsets, and price/supply controls.

The publication examines 24 REDD projects or programmes, concluding that their structural characteristics often harm forest communities and fail to reduce overall global emissions because they function as offsets.

The report outlines a comprehensive management system for GHG inventories in Chinese industrial zones, covering planning, development, and administration. It emphasizes the necessity of accurate inventories for determining emission reduction potentials and suggests a structured approach involving stakeholder engagement, rigorous quality assurance, and third-party verification. The document also details methodologies for emission calculation, the importance of capacity building to overcome technical gaps, and various models for predicting future emissions to inform policy decisions.

California is working toward supplying 33 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2020 and considering a 50 percent target by 2030. To maintain grid reliability without relying on carbon-emitting natural gas plants for ancillary services, the state must address 'overgeneration'—where renewable supply exceeds demand—which currently leads to the curtailment of clean energy. The document proposes several grid integration solutions: targeting energy efficiency during evening hours, diversifying the renewable fleet (wind, solar, bioenergy, and geothermal), increasing coordination between regional grid operators, deploying energy storage (pumped hydro, compressed air, and batteries), and using demand response technologies to shift electricity consumption to peak renewable output periods.

The author contends that shorter UNFCCC commitment periods (five years) are superior to longer ones (ten years) because they prevent the 'locking in' of under-ambitious emissions targets. While the EU has advocated for a ten-year period to provide investment security and align with its 2030 Energy Package, the author argues this package lacks sufficient ambition and could freeze global climate aspirations. The text also notes that the US supports shorter periods due to domestic political volatility and the likelihood that a long-term legally binding agreement would be rejected by the US Congress.

The report analyzes the EU's 2030 climate deal, which includes a binding 40% domestic greenhouse gas reduction target, a 27% renewable energy target, and a 27% energy efficiency target. Carbon Market Watch argues that these targets fall short of the 55% reduction required for a fair contribution to global climate goals. The analysis highlights significant risks to the 40% target, specifically the oversupply of EU ETS allowances (estimated at 2.6-4.5 billion by 2020) and the use of ETS allowances to meet non-ETS sector targets. It also criticizes the continuation of free emission allowances for industry and the provision of financial support to the power sectors of low-income Member States, which may prolong the use of coal.

The briefing warns that loopholes in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and the Effort Sharing Decision (ESD) have created a massive surplus of emission rights. This "hot air"—estimated at 4 billion tonnes—threatens to undermine the EU's 2030 climate ambitions by allowing continued pollution, effectively lowering a proposed 40% emission reduction target to 26%. The author calls for the permanent removal of these surpluses to protect climate goals.

The report examines performance-based specifications (PBSs), which define desired outputs rather than prescriptive inputs, as a tool for sustainable public procurement. While PBSs can drive innovation and circular economy models, they shift the public sector's burden to the evaluation and monitoring stages and require robust data and financial frameworks to succeed.

The report outlines a new business model for Fort Collins Utilities that bundles energy efficiency and solar PV services into integrated packages. It recommends a hybrid approach using auto-enrollment (opt-out) for a basic package, financed via on-bill repayment mechanisms such as on-bill tariffs and energy service charges. RMI's analysis suggests the model could support 90% of residential building emissions reductions and generate net income for the utility. The document details a pilot project for 200–300 homes to test customer demand, financial viability, and operational infrastructure before a city-wide rollout.

Carbon Market Watch asserts that the Joint Implementation (JI) mechanism is plagued by transparency and quality problems, particularly within 'Track 1' projects. The author argues that the mechanism fails to produce genuine emission reductions and that proposed reforms are insufficient, suggesting the scheme be consigned to history after 2020.

The paper identifies four types of double counting—double issuance, double claiming, double use, and double purpose—and argues that preventing these is essential for the integrity of international carbon markets. It recommends a 'net flows' accounting approach to ensure full fungibility of units and the international linking of emissions trading schemes. To prevent double issuance, the authors suggest a combination of entity attestations, host country approval, and a centralized UNFCCC information platform. The document emphasizes that globally unique serial numbers containing detailed metadata on mechanism, country, vintage, and scope are critical for effective international oversight.