Search Climate Insights Directory
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The 2018 Climate Accountability Scorecard
The 2018 Climate Accountability Scorecard evaluates eight major oil, gas, and coal companies, finding that while some have made minor improvements due to shareholder and legal pressure, their overall actions remain insufficient to align with the Paris climate agreement. The report highlights continued reliance on trade associations that spread disinformation and a systemic failure to set company-wide net-zero emissions targets.
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Document type: Report
Climate Accountability THE 2018 CLIMATE ACCOUNTABILITY SCORECARD
The 2018 Climate Accountability Scorecard evaluates Royal Dutch Shell's response to climate change, noting that while the company acknowledges climate science and supports the Paris Agreement in principle, it lacks a concrete net-zero action plan and maintains ties to industry groups that spread climate disinformation.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Aiming for Zero: A Growing Business Movement
The document argues that businesses have a crucial role in achieving the 'net zero' emissions goal established by the Paris Agreement. It suggests that corporate leaders can influence policy and regulation through their insights and experience, while adapting their operations to meet evolving national, European, and international expectations for sustainable growth.
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Document type: Briefing
To the G7 Heads of State and Governments
The We Mean Business Coalition calls on G7 governments to increase climate ambition by implementing more stringent 2020 NDCs, phasing out fossil fuel subsidies and coal power, and establishing strong carbon pricing. The coalition emphasizes that while businesses are aligning with the Paris Agreement to drive innovation and growth, they require clear policy signals to secure low-GHG capital investment. The statement advocates for a just transition to a net-zero global economy, highlighting that over 700 leading businesses—with a collective market capitalization exceeding $16.7 trillion—are already taking action through the coalition's campaigns.
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Document type: Statement
liability for inadequate climate policy
Milieudefensie, an association representing 80,000 members, asserts that Royal Dutch Shell plc is legally liable for its substantial contribution to global climate change. The document claims Shell has been aware of the causal link between fossil fuels and global warming since at least 1986, yet continues to prioritize oil and gas growth over sustainable energy. Milieudefensie demands that Shell align its investment decisions with the Paris Agreement, phase out oil and gas production, and reduce scope 3 emissions to zero by 2050. The letter argues that Shell's current strategy—which assumes fossil fuels will meet over 50% of energy demand by 2050—is unlawful under Dutch law and violates human rights. It further alleges that Shell has engaged in misleading PR and lobbying to obstruct climate policies in the EU and US.
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Document type: Statement
European heavy industry can no longer dodge climate action
The European manufacturing sector has seen minimal emission reductions, with industrial emissions in the EU falling by only 0.2% in 2016 and 1% since 2012. The author contends that the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) fails to incentivise low-carbon transformation because it allows industries to profit from the system rather than pricing pollution effectively. This environment protects incumbents and hinders innovators, such as low-carbon cement producer Ecocem, whose solutions can reduce the carbon footprint of concrete by over 50%. To achieve the Paris Agreement goals, the document calls for a Low-Carbon Industrial Strategy to scale demand for low-carbon products and remove market barriers. It suggests specific technological shifts: using recycled scrap in electric arc furnaces for steel, substituting clinker in cement, and replacing fossil fuel-based feedstock with biomass in the chemical sector. The author highlights a regulatory imbalance where pollution payouts via free permits are over 15 times the amount allocated for innovation under the EU ETS reform after 2020, and suggests alternatives like a carbon border tax.
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Document type: Statement
Tesco: Science-based target case study
Tesco has committed to reducing its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 60% by 2025 and scope 3 emissions by 17% by 2030, both using a 2015 base-year. To achieve these goals, the company is implementing a costed renewable electricity roadmap and investing in energy and refrigeration efficiency, having already spent over £700 million since 2006. Tesco aims for 100% renewable electricity by 2030 and a net-zero carbon status by 2050, while managing specific challenges related to agricultural emissions, which constitute approximately 70% of its supply chain emissions.
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Document type: Case study
Inledningsanförande – SEI 25 år i Tallinn 9/1 2018
The statement highlights Sweden's leadership in climate science and finance, its goal to become one of the first fossil-free welfare nations by achieving net zero emissions by 2045, and the necessity of using public finance to mobilize private investment for the green economy. It emphasizes the role of the IPCC and the Paris Agreement in guiding global action, noting that renewable energy is becoming increasingly affordable compared to fossil fuels.
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Document type: Statement
FACT SHEET Climate Accountability at ConocoPhillips
The Union of Concerned Scientists evaluated ConocoPhillips across four metrics from July 2016 to June 2018. While the company showed improvements in climate risk disclosure and planning for carbon pollution, it received an 'Egregious' score for renouncing disinformation due to its continued leadership roles in trade associations that spread climate disinformation and its use of language that misrepresents climate science.
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Document type: Fact sheet
23 Terms to Know at COP23
The guide defines fundamental concepts of international climate diplomacy, including the roles of the COP and CMA, the function of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and the development of the 'Paris rulebook' (Modalities, Procedures and Guidelines). It also outlines financial mechanisms like the Green Climate Fund and the $100 billion goal, as well as processes for increasing climate ambition such as the Global Stocktake and the Talanoa Dialogue.
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Document type: Guide
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Tackling poverty and climate change
The document asserts that developing nations, despite contributing the least to carbon emissions, suffer the most from climate impacts. It argues that the Paris Agreement's goals can only be met if vulnerable communities are provided with sustainable energy resources and that the $100 billion annual climate finance pledge by wealthy nations is insufficient to protect lives and maintain development in health and education. The author calls for the mobilization of both public and private finance to build low-carbon economies in the global south, noting that developing and emerging economies invested $156 billion in renewables in 2015.
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Document type: Statement
COP22 Jargon Cheat Sheet
The document provides a glossary of terms for COP22, covering basic UNFCCC structures, the mechanisms of the Paris Agreement, and specific financial and operational goals like the $100 billion climate finance target.
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Document type: Guide
decade zero
Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) asserts that humanity has entered 'Decade Zero,' a critical window for drastic action to prevent irreversible warming. The report advocates for a 'Fairshare' approach to the global carbon budget, where rich industrialised nations take the deepest cuts and pay their 'climate debt' to the global South. FOEI rejects 'false solutions'—including carbon markets, REDD, and 'net zero' technologies—arguing they protect corporate profits and lead to human rights violations. Instead, it proposes a transition to energy sovereignty, agroecology, and community forest management, underpinned by a shift away from neoliberalism toward an economic system accountable to people.
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Document type: Report
The Climate Accountability Scorecard
The report evaluates several major fossil fuel companies—including BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Peabody Energy, Arch Coal, and CONSOL Energy—on their accountability regarding climate change. It uses a scoring system to measure the accuracy of their public statements, their governance policies to prevent disinformation, and their responses to shareholder resolutions. The findings indicate a wide disparity in corporate behavior, with some companies like Shell and BP acknowledging the need for emissions reductions, while others like ExxonMobil and Chevron are flagged for misrepresenting science or actively blocking shareholder efforts to address climate risks.
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Document type: Report
The Climate Accountability Scorecard Ranking Major Fossil Fuel Companies on Climate Deception, Disclosure, and Action
The Union of Concerned Scientists evaluated eight major fossil fuel companies—Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips, Peabody Energy, CONSOL Energy, and Arch Coal—across four key areas of climate responsibility. The analysis found that all eight companies maintain memberships in trade associations that spread climate disinformation and none have developed a company-wide plan to align their business models with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. While BP and Shell were noted for affirming climate science in direct communications, and BP and ConocoPhillips scored 'good' on general political spending oversight, the report concludes that the industry as a whole fails to take appropriate responsibility for the climate impacts of its products.
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Document type: Report
The risks of relying on tomorrow’s ‘negative emissions’ to guide today’s mitigation action
The paper argues that relying on future large-scale negative emissions to 'undo' current carbon emissions is a high-risk strategy that may lead to insufficient near-term decarbonization. It identifies three primary risk types: technological/biophysical infeasibility, unacceptable social and ecological impacts, and the potential for sequestered carbon to be re-released or for climate impacts to become irreversible. The authors evaluate four land-based options, concluding that while ecosystem restoration and reforestation may provide some viable negative emissions, high-reliance scenarios (e.g., those requiring 1,000 Gt CO2) are likely unachievable. BECCS is highlighted as particularly risky due to unproven commercial scale and extreme land and resource requirements. The paper advocates for a 'zero fossil carbon' goal over 'net zero' to ensure aggressive immediate mitigation.
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Document type: Research paper
Staying on Track from Paris: Advancing the Key Elements of the Paris Agreement
The document analyzes the Paris Agreement's achievements and outlines a detailed pathway for operationalizing its ten core elements: mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, finance, technology transfer, capacity building, transparency, global stocktake, compliance, and cooperative approaches. It emphasizes the need for clear accounting rules, scaled-up finance, and robust transparency frameworks to ensure environmental integrity and increase ambition over time.
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Document type: Research paper
We Mean Business statement on a Net-Zero target for the UK
A statement from the We Mean Business Coalition calling for the UK government to establish a legal net-zero emissions goal, noting that participating companies have set their own targets to ensure long-term sustainability and profitability.
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Document type: Statement
An historic agreement in Paris: now the hard work begins
The author acknowledges the Paris agreement's goal to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees and achieve 'net zero' emissions by the end of the century as a landmark diplomatic achievement. However, the text highlights critical gaps, noting that the final agreement contains no mentions of fossil fuels or specific plans to curtail their production. To bridge the gap between rhetoric and reality, the author advocates for a comprehensive public engagement strategy based on people's values and lived experiences rather than scientific data alone.
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Document type: Statement
COP21 Q&A: What Is GHG Emissions Neutrality in the Context of the Paris Agreement?
The document defines GHG emissions neutrality as achieving net zero anthropogenic GHG emissions from all sectors, primarily through reductions and balancing remaining emissions with removals or negative emissions. It distinguishes this from carbon neutrality, which only addresses carbon dioxide. To limit warming to below 2 degrees C, CO2 emissions must reach net zero between 2060 and 2075, and total GHG emissions between 2080 and 2090. For a 1.5 degrees C limit, CO2 must reach net zero between 2045 and 2050, and total GHGs between 2060 and 2080. Achieving this requires a zero-carbon transformation, including increasing the low-carbon energy share in the electricity sector to over 80 percent by 2050 and phasing out unabated fossil-fuel use this century.
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Document type: Fact sheet