Since 2015, the 195 countries that signed the Paris climate agreement have committed to reducing their carbon footprint in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2100. However, only a little over 4% of climate policies have led to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
This is what a study published at the end of August in the journal reveals Science. It was conducted by researchers at the Potsdam Research Institute on Climate Change Effects, located in Germany. In detail, the scientists highlighted 63 measures out of a total of 1,500, implemented in 35 countries, each of which led to reductions of 19.4% on average in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. The sectors affected are electricity, industry, transport and construction. These reductions represent a total amount of between 600 million and 1.8 billion tons of CO₂.
To carry out this analysis on a global scale, the scientists relied on data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Because the policies analysed come from 41 countries, spread across six continents, and were implemented between 1998 and 2022. The researchers also used the machine learninga form of artificial intelligence, to evaluate them.
Complementary policies
A site allows you to discover these solutions by country, sector or even type of policy. In France, good practices in industry and transport are highlighted.
Typically, to demonstrate the effectiveness of a measure, researchers create models – forecasts of the likely beneficial outcomes of a policy, explains Sébastien Postic, an economist specialising in international public finance at the Institute for Climate Economics.
For him, this new study has “He turned the problem on its head.” The authors looked at the reductions in carbon emissions that have already occurred. They then looked at the climate policies that produced the expected effects. The result: the largest reductions in CO₂ emissions did not come from just one measure, but always from at least two.
“Many policies are quite ineffective when used in isolation, but when designed in combination and complementarity with others, they are very effective”explains economist Nicolas Koch, one of the authors of the study. “I think this is the first time that researchers have provided scientific evidence”rejoices Gaïa Febvre, head of international policies at the Réseau Action Climat association.
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