Climate policy portfolios that accelerate emission reductions

Abstract The corpus of national climate policies continues to grow, but to what effect? Using data on 2,782 policy instruments in 43 OECD countries and major emerging economies over the period 2000–2019 we show that national climate policy portfolios that specialise on certain instrument types and sectors are associated with faster reductions in fossil CO₂ emission intensity. Supported by exemplar country case studies, we also provide quantitative evidence that the effectiveness of climate policy is amplified by the presence of long-term emission reduction targets and governmental bodies including dedicated ministries and intergovernmental organisations. Over the study period, the cumulative CO₂ emissions avoided by adopting all portfolios amounted to 15.9 GtCO₂ of which half was in the emerging economies. Our findings identify what type of climate policy portfolios are best at accelerating emission reductions in line with Paris Agreement goals.