The eighth edition of UN Environment’s Emissions Gap report, released ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, finds that national pledges only bring approximately one-third of the reduction in emissions required by 2030 to meet climate targets, with private sector and sub-national action not increasing at a rate that would help close this gap. Given currently available carbon budget estimates, the available global carbon budget for 1.5 ˚C MORE

Vehicle and fuel technology for natural gas is available today and relatively affordable, particularly in comparison with other alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs). The paper uses Brazil, India, Iran, Pakistan, the US and Europe as case studies. Tags: Climate Change Emissions Heavy-duty Natural Gas The global natural gas vehicle fleet has grown rapidly in the last 10 years, but still represents less than 1% of global transport fuel consumption. Click to enlarge. MORE

Climate change. The report “Water Scarcity and Climate Change: Growing Risks for Businesses and Investors” notes that drought conditions are currently causing water shortages in Australia, Asia, Africa, and the United States, and that drought patterns are in many cases mirroring previously predicted effects of climate change. supply chain), and developed contingency plans for potential future risks such as those associated with climate change? MORE

Switzerland’s top ranking reflects strong performance across most issues, especially air quality and climate protection. Burundi, Central African Republic, Madagascar, the Bahamas, and Latvia slipped significantly in environmental performance, largely due to sub-par performance on climate change. Substantial populations still suffer from poor air quality, most notably in India, China, and Pakistan. MORE

Circle areas are proportional to values for (A and B) climate change, (C and D) human health (values for population over age 30), and (E and F) agriculture. Such information is needed, however, because multiple stakeholders are interested in mitigating climate change via control of non–carbon dioxide (CO 2 )–forcing agents such as BC, including the G8 nations (L’Aquila Summit, 2009) and the Arctic Council (Nuuk Declaration, 2011). Black carbon Climate Change Emission MORE

The aerosol buildup creates formations known as atmospheric brown clouds (ABCs) in which smog from diesel emissions, soot and other by-products of biomass burning accumulate and become widespread to a degree significant enough to affect regional climate. Because of the large-scale dimming by ABCs, they have a mitigating effect on the warming of the ocean in the region that’s also associated with greenhouse gas-driven climate changes. MORE

Emissions are increasing in other developing countries: 6% for Indonesia and Malaysia; 9% for Pakistan and 12% for the Philippines. Information on the other two greenhouse gases, methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O), is only available until 2012, as international statistics on agricultural activities—the main source of these emissions—are not updated as frequently as on energy and industry-related activities. Climate Change Emissions MORE

The study follows open-access research by some of the members of the team published last month in Geophysical Research Letters , in which the authors argue that the Chinese export-embodied CO 2 emissions have peaked due to the changing structure of Chinese production. —Dabo Guan, professor in climate change economics at UEA’s School of International Development and co-author on both studies. China Climate Change Emissions MORE