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The main purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of global carbon budget (GCB) as a key concept that should be introduced as a reference when countries formulate their mitigation contributions in the context of the Paris Agreement and in all the monitoring, reporting and verification processes that must be implemented according to the decisions of the Paris Summit.

A method based on carbon budget accounting is used to analyze the intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) submitted by the 15 countries that currently head the ranking of global emissions. Moreover, these INDCs are analyzed and compared with each other. Sometimes, inadequate methodologies and a diverse level of ambition in the formulated targets are observed.

It is found that the INDCs of those 15 countries alone imply the release into the atmosphere of 84 per cent of the GCB for the period 2011-2030, and 40 per cent of the GCB available until the end of the century.

This is the first time the INDCs of the top 15 emitters are analyzed. It is also the first analysis made using the GCB approach. This paper suggests methodological changes in the way that the future NDCs might be formulated.

A variety of gases, including water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), add to the radiative forcing of Earth's atmosphere, meaning that they absorb certain wavelengths of infrared radiation (heat) that is leaving the Earth and thus raise the temperature of its atmosphere. Since glass has the same effect on the loss of heat from a greenhouse, these gases are known as “greenhouse” gases. It is fortunate that these gases are found in the atmosphere; without its natural greenhouse effect, Earth's temperature would be below the freezing point, and all waters on its surface would be ice. However, for the past 100 years or so, the concentrations of CO2, CH4, and N2O in the atmosphere have been rising as a result of human activities. An increase in the radiative forcing of Earth's atmosphere is destined to cause global warming, superimposed on the natural climate cycles that have characterized Earth's history.

Amidst a growing interest in greenhouse gas (GHG) science-based target setting by businesses, it is becoming increasingly urgent to understand how these are set in theory and in practice.

Using a model framework for science-based methods, the authors compare four different science-based target-setting methods: sectoral decarbonization approach, linear emission reduction to target year, GHG emissions per unit of value added and corporate finance approach to climate stabilizing targets. Input and output variables, GHG scopes, allocation principles and mathematical formulations are described, followed by a discussion of the differences and similarities between methods.

The authors show GHG emission mitigation scenarios are as important in the determination of targets as the allocation principle.

For this reason, businesses should apply well-bellow 2ºC scenarios with robust sectoral and regional granularity and the science community should consider the needs of these groups of stakeholders.

Policymakers should actively support efforts by corporations to set science-based targets and ensure that the research they commission can be translated into practical action by non-party stakeholders.

This paper contributes to the understanding of the theory and practice of science-based targets.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the functionality and effectiveness of the Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM tool). The aim of the project, supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, was to develop a broadly accepted tool that provides investors and other stakeholders with a sound basis for the assessment of stranding risks.

The tool calculates the annual carbon emissions (baseline emissions) of a given asset or portfolio and assesses the stranding risks, by making use of science-based decarbonisation pathways. To account for ongoing climate change, the tool considers the effects of grid decarbonisation, as well as the development of heating and cooling-degree days.

The paper provides property-specific carbon emission pathways, as well as valuable insight into state-of-the-art carbon risk assessment and management measures and thereby paves the way towards a low-carbon building stock. Further selected risk indicators at the asset (e.g. costs of greenhouse gas emissions) and aggregated levels (e.g. Carbon Value at Risk) are considered.

The approach described in this paper can serve as a model for the realisation of an enhanced tool with respect to other countries, leading to a globally applicable instrument for assessing stranding risks in the commercial real estate sector.

The real estate industry is endangered by the downside risks of climate change, leading to potential monetary losses and write-downs. Accordingly, this approach enables stakeholders to assess the exposure of their assets to stranding risks, based on energy and emission data.

The CRREM tool reduces investor uncertainty and offers a viable basis for investment decision-making with regard to stranding risks and retrofit planning.

The approach pioneers a way to provide investors with a profound stranding risk assessment based on science-based decarbonisation pathways.

One of the most critical and active research areas in the field of climate change in recent years has been the interaction between land use and carbon emissions (LUCE). As there is a lack of data to represent the knowledge structure and evolution of LUCE between 1987 and 2018, this paper turned to CiteSpace in order to identify and visualize the cited references and keyword networks, the distribution of categories and countries and highly cited references in connection to LUCE research. Two indicators, betweenness centrality (BC) and citation burst (CB) embedded in CiteSpace, were utilized to investigate the knowledge structures.

Two indicators, BC and CB embedded in CiteSpace, were introduced to investigate the knowledge structures.

Firstly, pre-2000 papers provide the main theoretical foundation for LUCE research, and the innovation of computer technology also provides new ideas and methods for related research. Secondly, greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture are attracting more attention. As agriculture also involves food security, the pressure on agriculture to reduce carbon is enormous, and more research and policy investment will be needed in the future. Thirdly, although the natural sciences ranked highly on BC detection, social and humanities sciences have contributed more to the LUCE research with an increasing emphasis on regional and global governance to combat climate change. Finally, keen interest in carbon emissions and sustainable development in developed countries, particularly in Europe, has led to a large number of LUCE studies. Research being done in developing countries that are most affected by climate change is also outstanding.

The results collected will assist scientific researchers to better understand the research status and frontier trends in this sector, thus permitting researchers to comprehend current research interests in the LUCE analysis field and providing useful information for further investigation and publication strategies.

This study aims to understand the organisational benefits of carbon-focussed management control systems (carbon MCS) under a regulatory context.

The authors conduct a survey of 85 New Zealand (NZ) organisations covering different industries, sizes and compliance obligations.

The results suggest a significant direct positive impact of carbon MCS on organisations’ non-financial benefits and an indirect impact on financial benefits via non-financial benefits. The impact on non-financial benefits is strongest when a whole carbon MCS package is used rather than individual carbon controls. However, the highest impact on financial benefits are attained when only diagnostic controls are used rather than other controls or the whole MCS package. Firms in primary, manufacturing and energy sectors and those with export activities are less likely to achieve organisational benefits, while those with a compliance obligation under the emissions trading scheme are more likely to perceive such benefits.

The study has a limited sample size (85 firms), a unique context (NZ) and coves only large firms. Further, there are no objective performance measures to validate survey responses regarding organisational benefits.

The findings provide a business case for managers and practitioners in formulating their strategic and MCS responses to climate change issues.

The authors focus on carbon MCS and adopt a wider range of carbon MCS levers than previous research. The authors discern not only non-financial benefits but also financial benefits from MCS use.

Opportunities for shareholder value creation from deep decarbonization in fossil fuel and related industries may be unlocked with a permanent change in corporate governance practices. The purpose of this study is to highlight the conceptual links between corporate collaborations, decarbonization and equity value creation to enable the large-scale reallocation of funds necessary to halve carbon emissions by the end of this decade.

Consistent with shareholder value maximization, the author uses the constant dividend growth framework to show that a permanent change in corporate governance practices can impact expectations of future cash flows and required rates of return. This study includes a simulation to explore how perpetual corporate collaborations on decarbonization that influence the key equity value drivers can add value to the equity of collaborative firms.

Perpetual corporate collaborations with key stakeholders focused on equity value drivers hold great potential for accelerating the reallocation of funds to low-carbon assets. Simulation results suggest that relatively small changes, especially in required rates of return, may result in substantial increases in equity values for collaborative leaders in deep decarbonization.

This study identifies new sources of shareholder value from long-term corporate collaborations with key stakeholders on deep decarbonization. A collaborative focus on important equity value drivers can attract capital also to hard-to-abate industries and initiate sharp cuts in carbon emissions. Corporate governance practices, thus, reformed render shareholder value creation incentive compatible with rapidly decarbonizing global supply chains, making it possible to meet climate action goals by 2030.

The research objective of this paper is to investigate the direct and indirect impacts of green finance on agricultural carbon total factor productivity (ACTFP) within the framework of the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality (dual carbon) goals, while also identifying the driving factors through an exponential decomposition of ACTFP, aiming to provide policy recommendations to enhance financial support for low-carbon agricultural development.

In this paper, the Global Malmquist Luenberger (GML) Index method was employed to analyze and decompose the ACTFP, while the direct and spillover effects of China’s green finance pilot policy (GFPP) on ACTFP were assessed using the difference-in-differences (DID) method and the spatial differences-in-differences (SDID) method, respectively.

After the implementation of the GFPP, the ACTFP in the pilot area has experienced significant improvement, with the enhancement of technical efficiency serving as the main driving force. In addition, the GFPP exhibits a positive low-carbon spatial spillover effect, indicating it benefits ACTFP in both the pilot and adjacent areas.

Within the framework of the dual carbon goals, the paper highlights agriculture as a significant carbon emitter. ACTFP is assessed by considering the agricultural carbon emission factor as the sole non-desired output, and the impact of the GFPP on ACTFP is investigated through the DID method, thereby providing substantial validation of the hypotheses inferred from the mathematical model. Subsequently, the spillover effects of GFPP on ACTFP are analyzed in conjunction with the spatial econometric model.

Bioenergy is a key component of climate change mitigation strategies aiming at low stabilization. Its versatility and capacity to generate negative emissions when combined with carbon capture and storage add degrees of freedom to the timing of emission reductions. This paper aims to explore the robustness of a bioenergy-based mitigation strategy by addressing several dimensions of uncertainty on biomass potential, bioenergy use and induced land use change emissions.

Different mitigation scenarios were explored by two different energy-economy optimization models coupled to the same land use model, which provides a common basis for the second generation bioenergy dynamics in the two energy-economy models.

Using bioenergy is found to be a robust mitigation strategy as demonstrated by high biomass shares in primary energy demand in both models and in all mitigation scenarios.

A variety of possible storylines about future uses of biomass exist. The comparison of the technology choices preferred by the applied models helps understand how future emission reductions can be achieved under alternative storylines.

The presented comparison-based assessment goes beyond other comparison studies because both energy-economy models are coupled to the same land use model.