Long train journey so some reflections on current draft #COP26 texts

Are they close to a deal?

TL;DR very very long way to go in key areas including transparency, Article 6, common timeframes etc
In Article 6, latest texts include multiple refs to human rights, recalling the Paris text

(but NB non binding "should"…)
(See our Article 6 primer for background

carbonbrief.org/in-depth-q-and… )
Article 6.2 in particular includes a very lengthy to-do list of items that would be kicked down the road for later

There's pretty much 4 pages of "let's work this out later"
As with Article 6.4, there's disagreement over whether there's a need to apply "corresponding adjustments" to avoid double counting for emissions cuts "outside" the sectors, gases [and policies and measures] covered by an NDC

(Note the brackets around the 2nd paragraph)
There's also a developed be developing country fight over whether to use a "share of proceeds" to finance adaptation and "overall mitigation" under Article 6.2, as well as under 6.4
Article 6.4 is even more contentious, with big disagreements remaining over double counting and the transition of Kyoto credits/activities (potential hot air) into Paris mechanism
Other unresolved issues include the methodology for ensuring emissions cuts are additional to what would have happened anyway

One option would give wide leeway on how to do this…
On transparency -critical to check if countries live up to promises- the big fight is over "flexibility" for developing countries to not report fully - and whether they have to explicitly flag when they opt to use this "FLEX"

(AFAIU "No text" would mean not needing to fess up)
On "common time frames" for NDCs, the text remains packed full of nine (9!) separate options, covering all possible combinations of 5, 10, 5+5, 5 or 10 years (and more I haven't listed)
That's it from me

Here's my earlier analysis of brackets in Article 6 texts, which is fairly crude but, having looked more closely, a fair indication of how much remains unresolved in the text

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More from @DrSimEvans

5 Nov
NEW

Overnight at #COP26 we've had new texts on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, covering cooperation including carbon markets

At first glance they've made slow progress, only getting down to 296 [bracketed / disputed] bits of text vs 378 at the start of the week
The texts are a little tidier and easier to read, but eg here on the transition of Kyoto credits into Article 6 there are additional options

L: 2 Nov
R: 5 Nov

(5 Nov expclicitly includes "CERs shall not be used")
Here are the texts

Article 6.2 unfccc.int/sites/default/…
Article 6.4 unfccc.int/sites/default/…
Article 6.8 unfccc.int/sites/default/…
Read 4 tweets
18 Oct
NEW

UK govt has finally published details of its heat & buildings strategy, which will be out in full tomorrow

🎯new gas boiler ban* from 2035
💷£3.9bn funding inc £450m for heat pumps
📜shift levies off electricity bills over 10yrs
🔥decision on hydrogen heat in 2026

THREAD
First, why does this matter?

The UK's way off track against its legally-binding climate goals, inc net-zero by 2050 & the interim carbon budgets for late 2020s onwards

Pink scribble = gap btwn policies vs targets

carbonbrief.org/ccc-uk-will-mi…
We can expect more on how govt expects to close gap tomorrow (?) w publication of delayed UK net-zero strategy

But heat and buildings probably the trickiest area in political terms: it's up close & personal, it could be disruptive – low-carbon heat's currently expensive
Read 21 tweets
5 Oct
Super excited to finally share this updated analysis on the countries most responsible for climate change, now including all sources of CO2:

US 509GtCO2
CN 284
RU 172
BR 113
ID 103
DE 88
IN 86
UK 74
JP 68
CA 65

1/n

carbonbrief.org/analysis-which…
We first published analysis of cumulative historical CO2 in 2019 & I've been talking / thinking about it ever since

Our new article (by me) + animation by @tomoprater tries to answer all the questions we've had over the years – please do read

2/

carbonbrief.org/analysis-which…
We've made 4 big additions:

📅fully updated through 2021
🌲CO2 from land-use change & forestry
🚢analysis of consumption emissions
👪analysis of cumulative CO2 per capita

3/

carbonbrief.org/analysis-which…
Read 11 tweets
21 Jul
How lobbying works Pt 994

Heat & transport are the "two key sectors which appear to have the strongest potential for hydrogen"

Really?

So says Council for Science & Technology, chaired by @uksciencechief to advise UK PM

And who *really* says that?

1/

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…
The line comes from a letter to @beisgovuk secretary of state @KwasiKwarteng, PM & other senior ministers

The letter is billed as advice on decarbonising homes & the development of a hydrogen economy

It's signed by Patrick Vallance @uksciencechief

2/

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…
But who actually wrote the advice?

"We would like to thank Dervilla Mitchell (Director of Arup) and Paul Stein (Chief Technology Officer, Rolls-Royce plc) for leading the briefing sessions and development of this advice."

3/

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…
Read 11 tweets
6 Jul
Major new @OBR_UK report today on "fiscal risks" to UK has a big chapter on net-zero

OBR estimates net cost of net-zero by 2050 at £321bn

Crucially: "Unmitigated climate change would ultimately have catastrophic economic & fiscal consequences"

THREAD

obr.uk/frr/fiscal-ris…
The OBR identifies three "potentially catastrophic" sources of fiscal risk to the UK

These are the pandemic, unmitigated climate change & public sector debt

("the fiscal costs of reducing net emissions to zero…could be significant but not exceptional")

obr.uk/frr/fiscal-ris…
On net-zero, the @OBR_UK chapter is a really detailed and nuanced look at the costs, benefits and risks of (not) acting on climate change, over 69 dense pages

I'd encourage you to read it

obr.uk/frr/fiscal-ris…
Read 17 tweets
2 Jul
Today's Times frontpage is reporting govt plans to (consult on & then maybe) include heat & transport fuel in the UK's emissions trading scheme

A few thoughts

1/

thetimes.co.uk/article/gas-an…
We currently only pay for CO2 emissions from electricity generation & industry

This is…bonkers

Domestic gas use gets an effective *subsidy* of ~£100/tCO2

(Air travel is even worse – and look at road vs rail!)

HT @EnergySysCat, scribbles are mine

2/

es.catapult.org.uk/comment/carbon…
So as a matter of principle, it would make sense to have a CO2 price on gas and (all!) transport fuels

(Economists often bang on about harmonised economy-wide carbon pricing for optimum "efficiency")

✅Polluter pays
✅Shift fiscal incentives towards electricity

But…

3/
Read 12 tweets

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