Background briefings

 

After a year of record breaking climate extremes, collective action on mitigation and adaptation is crucial. Tackling the challenges of climate change is a defining feature of this and future decades, meaning action to translate the latest science into meaningful policy is needed. Our Background briefings provide summaries of the latest scientific evidence on climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as highlighting the implications for policymakers and others seeking to address these challenges.   

Read our background briefings

 

Background briefings

Phasing out 'unabated fossil fuels': defining 'abatement'

Without a formally agreed definition of what is meant by 'abatement', there is a risk that carbon reduction goals will be compromised. This briefing proposes a potential definition.

Limiting temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial

Assessments of global greenhouse gas emissions show that if current levels continue, we are at high risk of exceeding the 1.5°C level. This briefing presents the latest evidence on the size of the remaining carbon budget.

Pledges and policies: are we on track to meet climate goals?

Are the carbon reduction targets and policies from countries around the world sufficient to meet our global climate change goals? This briefing presents the latest assessment of global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Loss and Damage Fund: the need for climate impact metrics

The Loss and Damage Fund is intended to assist nations that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This briefing explores the role for climate science in operationalising the Fund and warns that eligibility criteria must be practical.

Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)

Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) will be needed to meet our climate change goals, but how advanced are CDR methods and what wider environmental and social impacts might they have?

Rampion Offshore Wind Farm, United Kingdom

How reliable is a renewables-based electricity system?

A clean and reliable power sector can be achieved by ramping up the deployment of renewables and providing a range of flexible energy sources, which will also increase energy security in countries that import fossil fuels.
An electricity pylon on a hill

The cost-effectiveness of renewable energy

Not only is electrical energy from renewables cheaper than gas, but a power system dominated by renewables is expected to reduce costs overall.

[Image by Thomas Angus, Imperial College London]

Read more about similar topics, as part of a UK-focused ‘myth-busting’ project between the LSE and Imperial College London Grantham Institutes on the LSE website:

 

LSE explainers

How will climate policy impact public support for climate action

There is strong and well-established evidence that the costs of not acting on climate change far outweigh the costs of transitioning to net zero. Furthermore, the impacts of climate change will certainly be unfair: the poorest and most marginalised groups in society often face higher exposure to climate impacts.

How will the transition to net zero affect the UK economy?

The rapid roll-out of clean energy and energy efficiency measures needed to deliver the net zero transition will be capital-intensive upfront but can serve to make the UK economy resilient, productive and competitive in the long term.

What do times of economic hardship mean for the UK’s transition?

While additional pressures on household budgets imply an even stronger need to ensure the costs and benefits of the net zero transition are distributed fairly, the fundamental arguments for why the UK must deliver a rapid transition remain unchanged and are in fact enhanced in the current context.

What does more North Sea oil and gas mean for UK net zero?

There is no evidence that new UK oil and gas production will displace production from elsewhere or that doing so will contribute to UK energy security. If countries followed the UK’s example, the targets of the Paris Agreement would be missed by a very large margin. Furthermore, the monetary gain from increases in oil and gas production will not be large.