The Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP) is a collaborative global research initiative to understand how individual countries can transition to a low-carbon economy consistent with the internationally agreed goal of limiting anthropogenic warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius (°C). Staying within this limit requires global net emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) to approach zero in the second half of this century. This will entail, more than any other factor, a profound transformation of energy systems, through steep declines in carbon intensity across all sectors, a transition we call “deep decarbonization”.

The DDPP consists of research teams from 16 countries representing 74% of current global CO2 emissions from energy. The teams consist of scholars from leading research institutions in their respective countries, who are acting independently and do not represent the official positions of their national governments. The DDPP is convened by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) and coordinated by a joint secretariat of these organizations.

This 2015 Synthesis Report provides a cross-cutting analysis of the aggregate results, complementing the executive summary published in September 2015.