Global climate change threatens to disrupt the well-being of society, deter economic development and alter the natural environment, making it a key policy concern of the 21st century. Governments around the world agree on the need to achieve cuts in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the coming decades, to adapt to the impacts of climate change, and to ensure the necessary financial and technical support for developing countries to act. They are working towards an international agreement to achieve these goals under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The OECD has been working on climate change economics and policy since the late 1980s. In the wake of the economic crisis, the OECD is also looking at how measures that governments are taking to spur economic growth can best be formulated so that they support – and do not work against – the objectives of moving towards a green, low-carbon economy.

The OECD works closely with governments to assist them to identify and implement least-cost policies to reduce GHG emissions in order to limit climate change, as well as to integrate adaptation to climate change into all relevant sectors and policy areas. As OECD countries are the major international donors, OECD has a critical role in tracking climate finance, and in examining how public finance can be scaled-up and best targeted to help leverage private financial flows.

Given the global nature of the climate change challenge, and its widespread economic, social and environmental impacts, the OECD is in a unique position to assist countries put climate policy on a solid economic footing consistent with frameworks for development. 

Work on climate change is underway across the OECD, engaging government representatives from a range of Ministries. This brochure provides an overview of the recent OECD work on climate change.

Full list of OECD policy issues on climate change by work area.

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