Climate Change Solutions

🌍 Ten Years After Paris: is the Climate Crisis a Disinformation Crisis? In 2015, the world made a historic promise: to keep global warming well below 2°C, and ideally below 1.5°C. We committed to major emission cuts by 2030, and net-zero by 2050. The Paris Agreement marked a new era of global climate cooperation. But ten years on, we're still struggling with cooperation while the World Meteorological Organization tells us that the Earth’s average temperature exceeded 1.5°C over a 12-month period (Feb 2023–Jan 2024) for the first time. Why? 🔍 A groundbreaking new study, led by 14 researchers for the International Panel on the Information Environment, reviewed 300 studies from 2015–2025. The findings are alarming: powerful interests – fossil fuel companies, populist parties, even some governments – are systematically spreading misleading narratives to delay climate action. 🧠 Misinformation isn't just about denying climate change. It’s now about strategic skepticism – minimizing the threat, casting doubt on science-based solutions, and greenwashing unsustainable practices. 📺 This disinformation flows through social media, news outlets, corporate reports, and even policy briefings. It targets all of us – but especially policymakers, where it can shape laws and delay critical decisions. 💡 So what can we do? 1️⃣ Legislate for transparency and integrity in climate communication. 2️⃣ Hold greenwashers accountable through legal action. 3️⃣ Build global coalitions of civil society, science, and public institutions. 4️⃣ Invest in climate and media literacy for both citizens and leaders. 5️⃣ Amplify voices from underrepresented regions – like Africa – where more research is urgently needed. We must protect not only the planet’s climate, but the integrity of climate information. 🔗 Read more on how disinformation is undermining climate progress – and what we can do about it: https://lnkd.in/eDN9hKAJ 🕰️ The window is small. But with truth, science, and collective action, we can still turn the tide.

🌍 We Can’t Afford to Get Climate Policy Wrong—A Look at the Data Behind What Really Works 🌍 In the race against time to combat climate change, bold promises are everywhere. But here’s the critical question: Are the policies being implemented actually reducing emissions at the scale we need? A groundbreaking study published in Science, cuts through the noise and delivers the insights we desperately need. Evaluating 1,500 climate policies from around the world, the research identifies the 63 most effective ones—policies that have delivered tangible, significant reductions in emissions. What’s striking is that the most successful strategies often involve combinations of policies, rather than single initiatives. Think of it as the ultimate teamwork: when policies like carbon pricing, renewable energy mandates, and efficiency standards are combined thoughtfully, the impact is far greater than any one policy could achieve on its own. It’s a powerful reminder that for climate solutions the whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts. Moreover, the study’s use of counterfactual emissions pathways is a game changer. By showing what would have happened without these policies, it provides a clear, quantifiable measure of their effectiveness. This is exactly the kind of rigorous evaluation we need to ensure that every policy counts, especially when we’re working against the clock. If we’re serious about meeting the Paris Agreement’s targets, we need to focus on what works—and this research offers a clear roadmap. Let’s champion policies that have proven to make a difference, because we don’t have time to waste on anything less. 🔗 Full study in the comments #ClimateAction #Sustainability #PolicyEffectiveness #ParisAgreement #NetZero #ClimateScience

Climate Transition Planning 🌍 Climate transition planning is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s becoming a business necessity. With mounting regulatory requirements and investor expectations, companies must move beyond setting climate targets and demonstrate how they will achieve them through structured Climate Transition Plans (CTPs). CTPs are increasingly embedded in global regulations. The UK, Switzerland, Australia, Hong Kong, and Japan have mandated transition plan disclosures, and other regions are moving in the same direction. In the US, the SEC climate disclosure rule, although currently on hold, also includes transition planning for companies that have one. Many existing sustainability frameworks already incorporate CTP elements. The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) remains the foundational reference, influencing ISSB’s IFRS S2 standards, SEC climate disclosures, and country-specific regulations. The overlap between frameworks allows businesses to integrate CTPs into existing sustainability reports rather than treating them as standalone requirements. The UK’s Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) and GFANZ provide structured guidance, while SBTi, CDP, and Climate Action 100+ offer tools to assess credibility and track progress. Beyond compliance, transition planning is a strategic advantage. Investors and financial institutions are embedding transition risk assessments into decision-making, and companies with robust, science-based transition plans are better positioned to access capital and strengthen partnerships. One of the biggest challenges remains financial planning. Only 5% of companies reporting to CDP in 2023 provided sufficient details on how they will fund their transition. Aligning sustainability strategies with CapEx, OpEx, and R&D budgets is essential to turn plans into real action. Businesses that act now will be ahead of regulatory shifts and well-positioned to mitigate transition risks. A strong climate transition plan isn’t just about reducing emissions—it’s about ensuring long-term resilience and competitiveness in a rapidly changing landscape. With regulations evolving across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific, the question isn’t whether companies should have a CTP, but rather how well-prepared they are to disclose and implement it. Source: @BSR #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg #climatechange #CTP #risks

🌍𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 📉 Traditional methods like taxing and pricing policies often lack the support and efficacy to combat climate change effectively. Factors like resistance from Yellow Vest movements, right-wing governments, and general loss aversion hinder the implementation of effective carbon pricing policies, resulting in only about a quarter of carbon emissions being priced—and at levels that are far too low. 🚫 Instead, Social Tipping Interventions (STIs) offer a promising alternative.🌟 STIs aim to create significant behavioural shifts by targeting specific groups and pushing behaviours past a threshold where further adoption becomes self-sustaining. Here ( 👉 https://lnkd.in/en9szheq a recent article about STIs. #SocialTippingPoints are inspired by #EcologicalTippingPoints, which refer to thresholds in natural systems that, when crossed, lead to significant and often irreversible environmental changes. In contrast, social tipping points are designed to leverage these social dynamics, using targeted nudges to destabilize the status quo and promote new, sustainable behaviours. 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐬 ✅ Cost-Effective: Unlike subsidies or taxes, STIs can achieve large-scale impacts with relatively low costs by focusing on specific, influential groups. ✅ High Acceptability: STIs often face less political opposition than direct taxation or stringent regulations. ✅ Scalable Impact: STIs can amplify their effects by triggering self-reinforcing changes, leading to widespread behavioural shifts without continuous intervention. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞: ☑ The transition from driving to cycling in Copenhagen, ☑ The adoption of solar energy, ☑ The rise of electric vehicles Flight shame is another example. Or BBQ-fear: emerging changes in norms. 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 While promising, STIs are challenging. Various factors, including financial barriers, social inertia, and potential backlash from certain groups, can influence the effectiveness of these interventions. Moreover, the empirical evidence on the scalability of STIs is still emerging, highlighting the need for further research and field experiments. 🌟 Social Tipping Interventions offer a powerful, cost-effective strategy and depoliticised way to drive large-scale behavioural change towards sustainability, complementing traditional policies and harnessing the power of social dynamics to create lasting impact. 🌟 🌿

NEW REPORT: I'm a big fan of district heating because it can unlock the huge potential of waste, ambient and renewable heat plus much needed energy system flexibility and storage. But how to clean up existing and deploy new clean district heating? Our new paper sets out five principles for policy makers and regulators. Full report here: https://lnkd.in/eQbX2jW6 1/ Current EU targets for renewable heating fall short of meeting the required trajectory for Europe's climate neutrality targets. To bridge the gap clean district heating can play a major role. 2/ Current district heating is far from clean. More than 60% of district heat is currently from burning fossil fuels. And most of what is counted as renewable heat is from burning biomass. 3/ Use & state of district heating systems varies greatly between countries. While the Nordic and Baltic countries have district heating shares above 30% of final energy use in the residential sector, other countries such as Belgium, Ireland, Portugal and Spain have almost none. 4/ The potential for district heating is very large. Heat Roadmap Europe led by Brian Vad Mathiesen estimated that in the 14 European countries analysed, representing 90% of EU heat demand, clean district heating could meet up to half of all heating needs by 2050. 5/ Increasing energy efficiency and digitisation and automation are key enablers for district heating to maximise its potential as a provider of clean heat and energy system flexibility. Some systems already do this very well whereas others require upgrading. 6/ Cleaning up existing and deploying new district heating systems is a complex undertaking. We distilled policy and regulatory levers to do this into 5 high-level principles set out in the report: Principle 1: Put efficiency first in the production, distribution, and consumption of heat; this vastly reduces the size of the decarbonisation challenge while lowering costs at the same time. Principle 2: Use local heat planning to enhance alignment between developments in heat supply, distribution and demand, including, where relevant, the phase-out of gas grids. Principle 3: Provide value to unavoidable waste heat. Harness the huge potential of available and unavoidable waste heat through local heat planning and incentive setting, to replace fossil fuels and save consumers money. Principle 4: Ensure end-user protection and enable viable business models. End-users should be shielded from potential monopolistic behaviour. A balance needs to be struck between ensuring the economic viability of business models (to attract the necessary investments for decarbonisation and modernisation of district heating systems), affordability of heat and quality of service. Principle 5: Reward energy system integration. Through coupling with the electricity sector, district heating can provide much needed flexibility and storage.

“Our messaging is not working” Enrique Ortiz, a veteran conservationist and founding member of the Andes Amazon Fund, has spent decades translating the complexities of ecosystems into action. But in his recent commentary for Mongabay, he issues a striking critique—not of science itself, but of how it’s conveyed. “Facts are not the most important part,” Ortiz writes. “The current narrative needs a re-thinking.” That rethinking, he argues, begins not with more data, but with deeper insight into how people process information, make decisions, and respond emotionally to the world around them. Ortiz’s concern is not that people are unaware of climate change. In fact, the majority of the global population acknowledges it. But many remain unmoved, caught in a web of abstract language, ideological filters, and emotional distance. Scientific accuracy, while essential, often falters in the face of cognitive and cultural barriers. Ortiz points to the findings of cognitive scientists and neuroscientists: facts rarely shift belief systems. Instead, people gravitate toward stories, experiences, and social cues. “When facing uncertainty,” he notes, “humans make decisions that are satisfactory, rather than optimal.” This disconnect, Ortiz argues, is especially clear in environmental communication. Words like “rewilding,” “green,” or “ecological” may have once inspired clarity, but have since become muddled through overuse or conflicting interpretations. Worse, they sometimes trigger skepticism or backlash. In this fog of abstraction, the human connection is lost. What’s needed, Ortiz suggests, is a new narrative strategy—one that harnesses the emotional power of stories and speaks to how people actually think and feel. He draws from his own experience as an educator: while his lectures on plant-animal interactions faded from memory, it was the stories that lingered. This phenomenon, known as “narrative transportation,” isn’t mere sentimentality. It’s a neurological reality that helps ideas stick—and decisions shift. Rather than continuing to warn of catastrophe, Ortiz believes we should share stories of adaptation and resilience. From Andean farmers modifying how they grow quinoa and potatoes, to everyday consumers making environmentally conscious choices, these narratives offer agency and hope. They bridge divides and foster shared values. “Our messaging is not working,” Ortiz writes bluntly. “We need a revolution in narratives—and in how we tell them.” That revolution may begin not in the lab or the newsroom, but in the quiet space where empathy meets understanding—and where change can finally take root. 📰 His piece: https://lnkd.in/gmrWBcc5 📸 Hoatzin. My photo.

The fight to keep science global Some nations are trying to shut the doors of international collaboration. Scientists can keep them open. In my op-ed for American Physical Society News I explore the current challenges to keep research global. While humanity’s most pressing challenges, from climate change to pandemic threats, demand worldwide cooperation, we are seeing a profound contradiction: governments are increasingly treating international collaboration as a national security vulnerability. History shows us a better way. Even at the height of the Cold War, initiatives like the International Geophysical Year and CERN proved that #sciencediplomacy could bridge the deepest divides. Today, the scientific community should "push back against the pushback". We must move beyond passive responses to actively defend the open exchange of ideas, the free movement of talent, and the fundamental values that make progress possible. Read the full piece here: https://lnkd.in/ejWagv5d #APSNews

🌍 Some companies aren’t waiting for the sustainability playbook to be written—they’re writing it themselves, through real and often difficult business model transformation. This recent Harvard Business Review article by Ivanka Visnjic, Felipe Monteiro, and Michael Tushman spotlights four such firms—Enel Group, Holcim, OCP Group, and Suzano. What they share is not a single blueprint, but a willingness to rethink how value is created, delivered, and measured across their organisations. They’re reshaping innovation portfolios ⚙️, building ambidextrous structures 🔁, and enabling experimentation at the edge 🧪—while keeping an eye on scale and integration. These are practical responses to a complex challenge, not abstract aspirations. One thing the article captures well is the real organisational work involved. Enel set up separate business units to explore new energy services. Holcim created a global programme to empower local plants with data and digital tools. Suzano is investing in community-based initiatives and backing them with budget authority, not just words. OCP’s internal platform, Le Mouvement, is turning employees into active designers of sustainability solutions. All of this takes place while navigating three tough but familiar tensions: 📉 Delivering on short-term performance while building for the long term 🌐 Driving global goals while staying grounded in local realities 🤝 Opening up to external partners while maintaining internal alignment These tensions can’t be eliminated—but they can be managed intentionally. And the companies profiled are showing that it’s possible to do so without losing focus or diluting ambition. For me, the article reinforced a broader point: sustainability, when taken seriously, demands organisational creativity—not just technical fixes or stronger targets. It requires rethinking capabilities, incentives, and learning structures across the organisation. And it often means questioning core assumptions about what business is for, and whose interests it serves. So the questions I’m left with are these: 🔹 Are we preparing our organisations—structurally and culturally—for this kind of transformation? 🔹 And are we willing to confront the uncomfortable trade-offs it inevitably exposes? I’d highly recommend this piece to anyone working at the intersection of strategy, innovation, and sustainability. It’s rich in insight and refreshingly grounded in real organisational practice: https://lnkd.in/dtEqnezP

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has just presented its much-anticipated Advisory Opinion on climate change. The highest judicial body of the UN has spoken very clearly: States have a legal obligation to protect from harm caused by climate change! 1️⃣ The Opinion makes clear that states that are party to the UNFCCC "have an obligation to adopt measures with a view to contributing to the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change." 2️⃣ The Court clarified that obligations also exist under customary international law. This could have consequences for states that are not (anymore) party to the Paris Agreement (such as the U.S.). 3️⃣ "Failure of a State to take appropriate action to protect the climate system from GHG emissions — including through fossil fuel production, fossil fuel consumption, the granting of fossil fuel exploration licences or the provision of fossil fuel subsidies — may constitute an internationally wrongful act which is attributable to that State." 4️⃣ The Court made a clear link between between human rights and climate change. "[T]he human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is essential for the enjoyment of other human rights." While not legally binding per se, this Advisory Opinion carries significant legal and political weight. The Opinion interprets binding international law to which countries have already committed. Courts are likely to treat this Opinion as a persuasive authority, and it will impact rulings that have binding effect under national or regional legal systems. ❗ From now on, climate inaction by governments does not just reflect another policy failure, but it can be seen as a breach of international law.

❓❓❓WHICH CLIMATE POLICIES WORK   💡New insights on this crucial question in our new paper 'Climate policies that achieved major emission reductions: Global evidence from two decades', published last week in Science.   This is probably the most important study that I have contributed to. Screening more than 1500 climate policies implemented between 1998 and 2022 across 41 countries from 6 continents, we identify those policy combinations that were successful in achieving substantial emission reductions (see picture below). This offers crucial guidance for countries to design climate policies and fight climate change.   Key messages: ✅Mixes>standalone: Climate policies tend to work best if they're part of a policy mix rather than implemented alone. ✅There is no one-size fits all approach: Successful policy mixes vary across sectors and between developed and developing countries.   This study was possible thanks to our #OECD Climate Actions and Policies Measurement Framework (CAPMF). This is exactly the kind of empirical research, for which we have developed the CAPMF. I'm very hopeful that this study will pave the way for further research that supports countries to develop best practices.   Links Study: https://lnkd.in/emNSyUmw Climate policy explorer: https://lnkd.in/e4YyxwKa CAPMF dataset: https://oe.cd/dx/capmf   Many thanks to my co-authors Annika Stechemesser, Nicolas Koch, Ebba Mark, Elina Dilger, Patrick N. Klösel, Laura Menicacci, Felix Pretis, Nolan Ritter, Moritz Schwarz, Helena Vossen & Anna Wenzel from PIK - Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) gGmbH and others.   #climateaction #climatepolicy #policy