Climate change
Aligning Policies for a Low-carbon Economy
Published on July 03, 2015
This report produced in co-operation with the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Transport Forum (ITF) and the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) identifies the misalignments between climate change objectives and policy and regulatory frameworks across a range of policy domains (investment, taxation, innovation and skills, trade, and adaptation) and activities at the heart of climate policy (electricity, urban mobility and rural land use).
Outside of countries’ core climate policies, many of the regulatory features of today’s economies have been built around the availability of fossil fuels and without any regard for the greenhouse gas emissions stemming from human activities. This report makes a diagnosis of these contradictions and points to means of solving them to support a more effective transition of all countries to a low-carbon economy.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Foreword and acknowledgements | |||||||||||
| Preface | |||||||||||
| Executive summary | |||||||||||
| Core climate policies and the case for policy alignment | |||||||||||
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Reforming cross-cutting policies5 chapters available
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Aligning policies in specific activities3 chapters available
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WHAT'S NEW
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a SYNTHESIS
In May 2014, ministers and representatives of OECD member countries and the European Union gathered at the Ministerial Council Meeting invited the OECD to work with the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International Transport Forum (ITF) “to continue to support the UNFCCC [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] negotiations and to examine how to better align policies across different areas for a successful economic transition of all countries to sustainable low-carbon and climate-resilient economies and report to the 2015 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting.”
The report "Aligning Policies for a Low-Carbon Economy" responds to that request by identifying where existing policy and regulatory frameworks are at odds with climate policy, i.e. where existing policies may make climate policy less effective than it could be otherwise.
This is a synthesis of the four organisations’ initial diagnosis of where and how existing policy and regulatory frameworks may not be aligned with a low-carbon economy.
| English version | French version | German version |
OECD ON THE ROAD TO #COP21
- Southeast Asia Expert Seminar: Aligning Policies for the Transition of a low-carbon Economy - Reconciling Environmental, Social and Economic Objectives | 4-5 November 2015 | Bogor Indonesia
- The Carbon Clock is ticking! Op-ed by Gabriela Ramos, OECD Special Advisor to the OECD Secretary-General, Europe's World | 14 October
- Webinar: COP21 and beyond: Aligning Policies for a Low-carbon Economy
- Betting the planet: A climate reality check, Climate Week event "Securing a Paris Dividend: Leadership and innovation for a strong, sustainable economy", NYC, Keynote address by OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría | September
- Climate: What’s changed, what hasn’t and what we can do about it: Six Months to COP21, Speech by OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría, hosted by the London School of Economics and Aviva Investors in association with ClimateWise | July
- Investing for Low-Carbon Economy, OECD Council at Ministerial Level | June
- IdeaFactory: Climate Carbon, COP21 and Beyond, OECD Forum | June
- OECD Forum: Unlocking investment for sustanable growth and jobs | 2-3 June
Reports and background papers
- Transition to a Low-carbon Economy: Public Goals and Corporate Practices, OECD
- ESAP Electricity Security Advisory Panel, IEA
- Shifting towards Low Carbon Mobility System & Policy Strategies for Vehicle Electrification, ITF
- Nuclear Energy and Renewables: System Effects in Low-carbon Electricity Systems, NEA
FURTHER READING
- We must change faster than the climate, Simon Upton, Director, OECD Environment Directorate, OECD Forum 2015
- Climate and carbon: Aligning prices and policies
- Adaptation to climate change
- Financing climate change action
- Investment for green growth
- OECD work on climate change and on greening transport
PARTNERS
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social media & CONTACT
- Stay tuned on Twitter: @OECD_ENV
- For more information, please contact: env.contact@oecd.org