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Have renewable energy leaders announced aggressive emission reduction goals? Examining variations in the stringency of country-level net-zero emission pledges

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  • Inhwan Ko
  • Nives Dolšak
  • Aseem Prakash

Abstract

The 2015 Paris Agreement outlined the goal to limit temperature increases below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C. In response, several countries have announced net-zero emission pledges (NZEP). The credibility of these pledges varies because countries have committed to different target years. Moreover, some pledges outline sectoral as opposed to economy-wide targets and vary in how they monitor progress. To assess the pledge’s credibility, we create a novel NZEP stringency score. We find that climate leaders with a higher share of renewable energy in final energy consumption are more likely to have announced more stringent NZEPs. However, economic development, the size of the economy, countries’ embeddedness in international environmental treaties, and the robustness of domestic civil society are not associated with NZEP stringency.

Suggested Citation

  • Inhwan Ko & Nives Dolšak & Aseem Prakash, 2022. "Have renewable energy leaders announced aggressive emission reduction goals? Examining variations in the stringency of country-level net-zero emission pledges," PLOS Climate, Public Library of Science, vol. 1(11), pages 1-13, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pclm00:0000094
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000094
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Noémi Nemes & Stephen J. Scanlan & Pete Smith & Tone Smith & Melissa Aronczyk & Stephanie Hill & Simon L. Lewis & A. Wren Montgomery & Francesco N. Tubiello & Doreen Stabinsky, 2022. "An Integrated Framework to Assess Greenwashing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-13, April.
    2. Niklas Höhne & Matthew J. Gidden & Michel Elzen & Frederic Hans & Claire Fyson & Andreas Geiges & M. Louise Jeffery & Sofia Gonzales-Zuñiga & Silke Mooldijk & William Hare & Joeri Rogelj, 2021. "Wave of net zero emission targets opens window to meeting the Paris Agreement," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 11(10), pages 820-822, October.
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