Introduction

Rising to the climate challenge By Ban Ki-moon,

The vision adopted in 2015 needs to be translated into action and results, beginning now

Climate action for a sustainable world By Patricia Espinosa,

In its scale and urgency, the task to limit global warming to well below 2°C is without precedent. It requires universal focus and massive resource mobilisation, which will demand action and interaction from everyone

Delivering on the promise By Abdeladim Lhafi,

Last year in Paris, COP21 set ambitious targets for curbing climate change and achieving sustainable growth. How will the 2016 conference turn those promises into actions?

Making Paris count By Natalie Samarasinghe,

After years of negotiation, last year’s climate conference was rightly hailed as a success. We now need to ensure that the best deal politics could get produces the global transformation we need

Common purpose, shared planet By Liza Henshaw,

The UN climate deal was an important diplomatic victory. But its implementation, like its origins, will be fuelled by people driving change through everyday political, social and economic actions

AFTER PARIS

Decision-makers heed the Paris call to action By Elliot Diringer,

The Paris Agreement may be a compact among nations, but more than any international treaty before, its success will hinge on its mobilisation of society at large

Adaptation: putting Paris into practice By Roger B. Street,

The Paris Agreement recognises that nations must do much more to adapt to unavoidable climate change. How should this be balanced with mitigation efforts?

Will the INDCs deliver? By Hanna Fekete,

Are countries’ commitments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions enough to achieve the target of limiting the global temperature rise to well below 2°C?

SOLUTIONS

A time for solutions By Hoesung Lee,

With a global consensus that man-made global warming presents a perilous threat to the planet, how do we go about curbing temperature rises and creating a zero-carbon global economy?

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FCA: innovating mobility By Fiat Chrysler Automobiles,

Making the switch By Nick Eyre, Rob Gross,

With the costs of generating renewable energy no longer prohibitive, what are the challenges for ramping up sustainable energy production?

Putting together the clean energy puzzle in developing countries By Rachel Kyte,

Climate 2020 interviews Rachel Kyte, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All)

Creating low-carbon cities By Joan Clos,

As people around the world live increasingly urban lives, cities will be at the forefront of any long-term climate solution

Securing energy sustainably By Emily Cox,

How can energy strategies tackle climate change without compromising energy security?

Reaping exponential benefits By Paul Bunje,

Proponents of exponential technologies eulogise their ability to transform societies over the next 25 years. What is their potential to help tackle climate change?

Decarbonising transport By Cornie Huizenga,

With demand for transport ever rising, and fossil-fuel engines still dominant, the sector needs to undergo a fundamental transformation if the global warming targets set in Paris are to be met

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Green signals By Ansaldo STS,

Italian railway signalling specialist Ansaldo STS explains why championing the needs of society and the environment is central to the company’s business model

Nurturing natural carbon sinks By Pieter P. Tans,

Earth’s natural carbon sinks – plants, soil, oceans and atmosphere – are facing major threats from climate change. What can 
we do to protect them and promote their efficacy?

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Diet and climate By Sandra Higgins,

Most measures to cut GHG emissions are complex and require compromise and investment. Switching to a vegan diet is an exception: easy to do and accessible to the individual

Good intentions don’t equal good climate policy By Varun Sivaram,

Many initiatives hailed as beneficial for the climate have failed to deliver or even had damaging consequences. What lessons can be learned and what risks are posed by current initiatives?

ACCOUNTABILITY

Enforcing environmental rules By Jennifer Morgan,

The Volkswagen emissions scandal revealed cynical fraud on a shocking scale. How was this allowed to happen, and what can be done to stop other industries 
from flouting environmental rules in pursuit of profit?

Towards a new business as usual By Emily Farnworth,

Governments alone can’t tackle climate change. As drivers of the world economy, companies must now embrace and champion climate-friendly practices in their day-to-day operations

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Protecting communities, forests and the climate By the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil,

Tracking progress after Paris By Lambert Schneider,

Ensuring that countries deliver on their pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions calls for transparent and robust international accounting rules – and some deft negotiation

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Sustainability in practice By City Express Hotels,

City Express Hotels reinforces its commitment to society through its sustainability programme

Pricing carbon By Helen Mountford,

If there is one thing guaranteed to affect economic behaviour, it’s price. Is taxing our use of carbon the magic bullet to drive humans away from fossil fuels?

An international court for the environment? By Stuart Bruce,

How effective are current international courts at protecting communities when human activity causes environmental damage? Is there a case for a new mechanism to ensure that climate commitments are upheld?

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Insurance to manage climate risk By Marisa Parmigiani,

CLIMATE FINANCE

Crunch time for the Green Climate Fund By Christa Clapp, Germana Canzi,

Despite laudable aims of helping the world’s poorest cope with climate change, the Green Climate Fund has no shortage of critics. What must it do to ensure that its good intentions translate into tangible outcomes?

What role for carbon trading? By Rafael Marques, Richard L. Sandor,

Has the Paris Agreement breathed new life into cap-and-trade schemes, recently accused by some critics of being dead in the water?

Finance for a future By Eric Usher,

The financial community played a constructive role in the Paris Agreement – it must now provide leadership in the transition to a sustainable global economy. Eric Usher, Head of the UNEP Finance Initiative, talks to Climate 2020

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Transitioning from talk to action By Frédéric Janbon,

What is the role of investors in implementing the Paris Agreement?

How green are green bonds? By Ryan Brightwell,

Green bonds are becoming an increasingly popular financial instrument for generating investment in environmentally sustainable projects. But are they always as green as they could, and should, be?

Financing a low-carbon economy: framing the policy response By

Achieving the goals defined at Paris will require trillions of dollars of investment over the next few years. What policies must governments enact to make this happen?

Evaluating carbon sequestration By Geeta Batra, Juha I. Uitto,

Deforestation and land degradation have hugely impacted the planet’s natural ability to remove atmospheric carbon dioxide. Projects to restore the balance are well underway, but quantifying their success 
is difficult, calling for a new multidisciplinary analytical approach

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Improving the carbon footprint with indices By STOXX,

Climate change presents significant risks to assets that can be faced with sustainable index concepts

Time to price energy right By Ian Parry,

Ensuring that fossil-fuel prices reflect their true cost to the environment is critical for promoting the transition to greener economic growth. Can governments build on the political will shown at Paris and put energy price reform into action?

ADAPTATION

Avoiding disasters by being prepared By Stephen O’Brien,

In the ongoing battle to protect the world’s most vulnerable communities from the devastating effects of climate change, 
risk management is a weapon that offers new hope

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Climate change, the biggest global threat to children By Andrés Conde,

Fair access to scarce resources By Estherine Lisinge Fotabong,

Demographic changes and climate change are squeezing the availability of many natural resources, heightening the imperative to improve the quality of governance

Forced to flee By Walter Kälin,

The catastrophic effect of climate change on mass migration is undeniable. How can governments protect migrants and the communities that give them refuge?

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Climate variability and its impact on water resources By ANEAS,

Climate change has potentially devastating implications for the availability of one of humankind’s most precious resources

Maintaining security By Elisabeth Gilmore, Halvard Buhaug, Håvard Hegre,

What can be done to prevent the pressures of climate change leading to conflict?