Reports and Documents

The Compact of States and Regions has released its first-ever Disclosure Report. The Compact of States and Regions provides the first ever single, global account of greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets made by state and regional governments.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Renewable energy Policy Network for the 21st century (REN21) joined forces to produce the UNECE Renewable Energy Status Report which covers 17 selected UNECE member countries located in the South East Europe, the Caucasus, the Russian Federation and Central Asia.

Initial analysis of almost 6,000 projects targeting renewable energy and energy efficiency in developing countries has revealed that the projects could reduce CO2 emissions by about 1.7 gigatons a year by 2020.

The transition from fossil fuels to cleaner, safer energy technologies is under way.

How is China shifting to a low-carbon economy? What is driving the transition, and how will it affect global climate negotiations?

This study comprehensively examines the manufacturing supply chain of different components used in RE systems, especially wind and solar technology, in India.

This paper assesses the potential for improving the CO2 intensity of Japan’s electricity sector—the units of carbon dioxide emitted per units of electricity generated—by examining the potential for the feasibility of restarting nuclear power plants and increasing renewable electricity generation by 2030.

Many islands face shortages of fresh water. Desalination using renewable energy can meet their water needs at reduced costs, this report finds. Desalination methods such as reverse osmosis (RO) or multi-effect distillation (MED) can be combined with solar photovoltaic (PV) or concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies.

The momentum towards a low-carbon economy is unstoppable. This is the year in which the world not only decided that growth must be sustainable, equitable and low carbon, but also took crucial strides towards the inclusive, green economy.

Tracking progress in the transition to low-carbon energy systems, including action taken through countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), is necessary to focus attention on the steps needed today to achieve both short- and long-term climate goals.