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RMI proposes that a nearly 100 percent renewable energy system is achievable by the mid-2050s by applying market adoption 'S-curves' seen in previous industrial revolutions to clean energy technologies. The briefing emphasizes that the transition is driven by declining costs, electrification of end-uses, and decentralized adoption rather than solely by government mandates. To meet the 1.5°C target, the document asserts that the energy sector must be paired with high-impact measures in the agricultural, forestry, and land-use (AFOLU) sectors to create net carbon sinks by mid-century.

The analysis identifies several gaps in South Africa's draft GHG reporting regulations, including a lack of accuracy calibration for monitoring instruments and ambiguous language regarding facility-level reporting. It recommends that South Africa adopt more stringent requirements similar to the US GHGRP, such as a uniform emissions threshold of 25,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent, a shorter transitional period for regulated entities, and the explicit inclusion of fluorinated gases in the reporting text to ensure transparency and accountability.

The document argues that global diets are converging toward resource-intensive Western styles, which threatens environmental sustainability and human health. Using the GlobAgri model, the authors demonstrate that reducing calorie and protein overconsumption among wealthy populations can significantly spare agricultural land and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The paper introduces the 'Shift Wheel' framework to help the food industry implement these dietary changes through behavioral and marketing strategies.

The document examines the risks of using agricultural soil carbon sequestration as carbon offsets. It highlights technical failures in measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV), the non-permanence of biological carbon compared to fossil carbon, and social risks such as land grabbing and the marginalization of small-scale farmers. The author argues that 'Climate Smart Agriculture' often serves as greenwashing for agribusiness corporations. Instead of carbon markets, the report recommends using National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) to prioritize food security, tenure rights, and sustainable rural livelihoods.

Carbon Market Watch recommends that the ICAO GMBM exclude high-risk offset projects, including fossil fuel power plants, nuclear facilities, large-scale hydropower, and certain industrial gas destruction projects. The brief highlights that these project types often lack additionality, cause severe social and environmental harm, or suffer from non-permanence. It cites existing exclusions in the EU ETS and other jurisdictions as precedents for maintaining high quality standards in aviation's climate response.

A coalition of environmental organisations urges the European Commission to adopt 'Option 1' for the 2030 Climate and Energy Framework, which establishes a separate LULUCF pillar. They argue that including Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) in the general 'at least 40 per cent' reduction target would dilute ambition by 3-7 percentage points. The authors call for the removal of fungibility between pillars, the use of base-period accounting instead of reference levels for forest management to expose bioenergy emissions, and the maintenance of agricultural non-CO2 emissions within a strengthened Effort Sharing Decision (ESD).

The report argues that the AFOLU sector, which accounts for approximately 24% of global warming pollution, offers significant potential to close the emissions gap. By analyzing eight major emitters—the United States, Indonesia, China, India, Brazil, the European Union, Mexico, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo—the authors find that median mitigation potentials for these countries could cover 76% of the 2020 emissions gap and 44% of the 2030 gap. The report emphasizes a combination of supply-side production efficiencies and demand-side consumption changes, such as reducing beef consumption and food waste, to achieve these reductions.

The document evaluates the environmental sustainability of first-generation biofuels produced in the Basque Country using an innovative methodology that integrates the SIMSNIC agronomic model with life cycle analysis. The study focuses on bioethanol from wheat and biodiesel from rapeseed in the La Llanada Alavesa area. It finds that while biofuels are more energy efficient than fossil fuels, meeting the EU's mandatory 35% greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target is unlikely under current mineral fertilisation conditions, particularly in nitrate-vulnerable areas. Organic fertilisation increases the likelihood of meeting GHG targets but exacerbates water contamination, soil acidification, and land-use competition. The authors conclude that the agricultural stage, specifically nitrogen fertilisation and climatology, is the primary driver of the carbon footprint due to nitrous oxide emissions.

The report finds that AFOLU mitigation potentials for eight major emitters—the United States, Indonesia, China, India, Brazil, the European Union, Mexico, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo—could reduce the 2020 emissions gap by approximately three-fourths and the 2030 gap by nearly half. The United States has the highest individual potential at 23 Gt CO2eq, while Indonesia, China, and India also show substantial potentials between 0.75 and 1.75 Gt. These potentials are derived from three primary activities: reducing emissions from deforestation and peatland clearing, decreasing agricultural emissions (such as methane and nitrous oxide), and increasing carbon sequestration through reforestation and ecosystem restoration.

Agricultural emissions accounted for approximately 13 percent of total global emissions in 2011, totaling 6 billion tonnes. The primary sources are methane from cattle and nitrous oxide from fertilizers and soil waste, which together comprise 65 percent of the sector's emissions. Global agricultural emissions grew by 8 percent between 1990 and 2010 and are projected to reach nearly 7 billion tonnes per year by 2030, driven largely by population growth and dietary shifts in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Mitigation opportunities include improving crop and grazing management, reducing food loss and waste, and shifting dietary preferences away from meat, particularly beef.

The document outlines the scale and sources of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, identifying the sector as the second largest global emitter. It highlights the role of methane and nitrous oxide, lists the top emitting countries, and discusses the impact of land-use change and dietary shifts. Finally, it presents the GHG Protocol guidelines as a tool for farms to inventory and reduce their carbon footprint through improved production practices and demand-side changes.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) submitted comments to the California Air Resources Board (ARB) arguing against reducing indirect land use change (ILUC) emissions estimates for biofuels. CATF contends that the GTAP model used by ARB undercounts emissions by ignoring water scarcity constraints, failing to distinguish between commercial and non-commercial forests, and using flawed yield improvement assumptions. Specifically, CATF cites research showing that accounting for irrigation constraints can increase land-based emissions by 27.5%. The document also highlights that climate-driven drought in the US Midwest may decelerate corn yields and that the current framework ignores nitrous oxide emissions from increased fertilizer use required to sustain yield growth.

The document argues that the global agro-food system is increasingly inefficient due to a disconnection between crop production and livestock, driven by rising demands for animal protein and high rates of food waste. It highlights that international trade of food and feed has increased eightfold over the last 50 years, leading to significant nitrogen pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Using Spain as a primary example, the authors demonstrate how a shift from a Mediterranean diet to one rich in animal proteins has increased nitrogen pollution and created 'emission leakage,' where emissions associated with imported feed in non-Annex B countries exceed those from domestic production. The briefing suggests that reducing animal protein intake, decreasing food waste, and reconnecting crops with livestock are essential for global food security and environmental safety.

The report argues that the current U.S. agricultural landscape is dominated by corn and soybeans due to federal subsidies, which contradicts national nutritional goals. Using economic modeling, the authors find that aligning production with healthy dietary guidelines would significantly increase fruit and vegetable acreage while reducing cereal grain production. Such a transition would likely improve public health, reduce environmental degradation from monocropping and livestock operations, and create new economic opportunities for farmers, particularly in the Midwest.

The research introduces a modelling framework combining the NGAUGE field-scale model and a new LANDDAIRY farm-scale submodel to quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Basque dairy farms. A case study of 17 farms in Bizkaia found mean total GHG emissions of 385 ± 175 t CO2-eq yr-1, with emissions per litre of energy-corrected milk ranging from 0.86 to 2.11 kg CO2-eq. The study identifies methane from enteric fermentation and emissions from purchased feed as the primary contributors to the carbon footprint, suggesting that purchased feed can serve as a proxy for estimating total farm emissions.

The paper assesses the technical parameters used to calculate emission reductions for improved cookstoves, specifically focusing on biomass fuel consumption, the fraction of non-renewable biomass, and emission factors. It identifies significant uncertainties in current Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Gold Standard methodologies, noting that reliance on laboratory tests like the Water Boiling Test often fails to reflect real-world performance. The authors argue that current accounting may under-credit projects by ignoring non-CO2 gases and black carbon, and by using fossil fuel emission factors as surrogates for biomass. The document recommends incorporating uncertainty accounting, refining monitoring through data loggers, and developing more localized, sub-national assessments for non-renewable biomass.

The document examines the technical challenges and gaps in accounting for greenhouse gas emissions in cookstove projects, specifically focusing on the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and voluntary offset programs. It identifies critical uncertainties in estimating biomass fuel savings, monitoring stove usage, and determining the fraction of non-renewable biomass used. The brief argues that current methodologies often rely on unscientific workarounds, such as using fossil fuel emission factors, and fail to account for significant non-CO2 climate impacts like black carbon.

The briefing analyzes the outcomes of the 70th CDM Executive Board meeting, highlighting a perceived failure to strengthen additionality and environmental integrity. Key criticisms include the Board's rejection of fixed crediting periods, its refusal to address perverse incentives in nitric acid plant projects, and the approval of a voluntary rather than mandatory sustainable development tool. Conversely, the document notes positive steps toward improving global and local stakeholder consultation processes.

The EU-ETS is the world's largest cap-and-trade system, regulating approximately half of the EU's CO2 emissions across 30 countries. While it has evolved through three trading periods to include more greenhouse gases and airline emissions, the system has suffered from severe over-allocation of allowances, leading to price collapses and a surplus of approximately 2 billion allowances by the end of 2012.

The document expresses concerns that carbon credit offsets within the EU Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) and the Effort Sharing Decision (ESD) undermine domestic emission reductions. It specifically calls for Portugal to prohibit offsets from industrial HFC-23 and N2O emissions, coal-fired power plants in developing countries, large-scale hydropower projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and Phase I Joint Implementation (JI) projects due to lack of environmental integrity and transparency.