The talk with present the key results of the IPCC Working Group III 5th assessment report. Concluding four years of intense scientific collaboration by hundreds of authors from around the world, the report responds to the request of the world's governments for a comprehensive, objective and policy neutral assessment of the current scientific knowledge on mitigating climate change. The report has been extensively reviewed by experts and governments to ensure quality and comprehensiveness.

Climate change 2014 - Mitigation of climate change

Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, global air transport demand was expected to triple between 2020 and 2050. The pandemic, which reduced global air travel significantly, provides an opportunity to discuss the scale, distribution and growth of aviation until 2018, also with a view to consider the climate change implications of a return to volume growth. Industry statistics, data provided by supranational organizations, and national surveys are evaluated to develop a pre-pandemic understanding of air transport demand at global, regional, national and individual scales. Results suggest that the share of the world’s population travelling by air in 2018 was 11%, with at most 4% taking international flights. Data also supports that a minor share of air travelers is responsible for a large share of warming: The percentile of the most frequent fliers – at most 1% of the world population - likely accounts for more than half of the total emissions from passenger air travel. Individual users of private aircraft can contribute to emissions of up to 7,500 t CO2 per year. Findings are specifically relevant with regard to the insight that a large share of global aviation emissions is not covered by policy agreements.

The global scale, distribution and growth of aviation: Implications for climate change

The global Covid-19 pandemic has rapidly overwhelmed our societies, shocked the global economy and overburdened struggling health care systems and other social institutions around the world. While such impacts of Covid-19 are becoming clearer, the implications of the disease for energy and climate policy are more prosaic. This Special Section seeks to offer more clarity on the emerging connections between Covid-19 and energy supply and demand, energy governance, future low-carbon transitions, social justice, and even the practice of research methodology. It features articles that ask, and answer: What are the known and anticipated impacts of Covid-19 on energy demand and climate change? How has the disease shaped institutional responses and varying energy policy frameworks, especially in Africa? How will the disease impact ongoing social practices, innovations and sustainability transitions, including not only renewable energy but also mobility? How might the disease, and social responses to it, exacerbate underlying patterns of energy poverty, energy vulnerability, and energy injustice? Lastly, what challenges and insights does the pandemic offer for the practice of research, and for future research methodology? We find that without careful guidance and consideration, the brave new age wrought by Covid-19 could very well collapse in on itself with bloated stimulus packages that counter sustainability goals, misaligned incentives that exacerbate climate change, the entrenchment of unsustainable practices, and acute and troubling consequences for vulnerable groups.

Contextualizing the Covid-19 pandemic for a carbon-constrained world: Insights for sustainability transitions, energy justice, and research methodology

Policy and management of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality: A literature review

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) increasingly enable employees to work from home and other locations ('teleworking'). This study explores the extent to which teleworking reduces the need to travel to work and the consequent impacts on economy-wide energy consumption. Methods/Design: The paper provides a systematic review of the current state of knowledge of the energy impacts of teleworking. This includes the energy savings from reduced commuter travel and the indirect impacts on energy consumption associated with changes in non-work travel and home energy consumption. The aim is to identify the conditions under which teleworking leads to a net reduction in economy-wide energy consumption, and the circumstances where benefits may be outweighed by unintended impacts. The paper synthesises the results of 39 empirical studies, identified through a comprehensive search of 9,000 published articles. Review results/Synthesis: Twenty six of the 39 studies suggest that teleworking reduces energy use, and only eight studies suggest that teleworking increases, or has a neutral impact on energy use. However, differences in the methodology, scope and assumptions of the different studies make it difficult to estimate 'average' energy savings. The main source of savings is the reduced distance travelled for commuting, potentially with an additional contribution from lower office energy consumption. However, the more rigorous studies that include a wider range of impacts (e.g. non-work travel or home energy use) generally find smaller savings. Discussion: Despite the generally positive verdict on teleworking as an energy-saving practice, there are numerous uncertainties and ambiguities about its actual or potential benefits. These relate to the extent to which teleworking may lead to unpredictable increases in non-work travel and home energy use that may outweigh the gains from reduced work travel. The available evidence suggests that economy-wide energy savings are typically modest, and in many circumstances could be negative or non-existent.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab8a84/pdf

A systematic review of the energy and climate impacts of teleworking

Through their consumption behavior, households are responsible for 72% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, they are key actors in reaching the 1.5°C goal under the Paris Agreement. However, t ...

Jeremy Fischer

Papers

It starts at home? Climate policies targeting household consumption and behavioral decisions are key to low-carbon futures