Alistair Berg
Only 63 out of the 1500 climate policies implemented over the past 25 years were successful, a new study titled “Climate policies that achieved major emission reductions: Global evidence from two decades” has revealed.
The study led by Climate Econometricians at the University of Oxford, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, evaluated climate policies implemented between 1998 and 2022 across 41 countries from six continents.
Out of the 1500 policies examined, only 63 successful policy interventions were identified, with total emission reductions between 0.6 billion and 1.8 billion metric tonnes CO2.
However, the researchers added that policymakers and governments can learn from the 63 effective policies to design better climate policies that result in meaningful reductions.
The study noted that climate policies work better as part of a mix. It found that a climate policy is more effective if it is a part of a policy mix, instead of being implemented alone. For example, it would be more effective to combine carbon pricing with a subsidy.
The researchers emphasized that the developing nations have different climate policy needs than developed nations. They found out that while carbon pricing has been more successful in developed countries, regulation works better for the developing countries.
By focusing on the 63 cases of successful climate policies, the current emission gap to meet the Paris Targets could be narrowed by 26% -41%, the study added.
“Meeting the Paris Agreement’s climate targets necessitates better knowledge about which climate policies work in reducing emissions at the necessary scale,” the study said.
