Only the combination of several measures is effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions

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. But only a little over 4% of climate policies have significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

This is what a study published at the end of August in the journal Science. It was conducted by researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Change Impact Research in Germany. In detail, the scientists highlighted 63 measures out of 1,500, implemented in 35 countries, which each led to reductions of 19.4% on average in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. The sectors concerned are electricity, industry, transport and buildings. These reductions represent a total amount of between 600 million and 1.8 billion tonnes of CO₂.

To conduct this global analysis, the scientists relied on data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Because the policies examined come from 41 countries, spread across six continents, and they were implemented between 1998 and 2022. The researchers also used the machine learninga form of artificial intelligence, to evaluate them.

Additional policies

A site allows you to discover these solutions according to countries, sectors or even by type of policy. Good practices in industry and transport are thus highlighted in France.

Typically, to prove the effectiveness of a measure, researchers create models, that is, forecasts of the probable beneficial results of a policy, explains Sébastien Postic, an economist specializing in international public finances at the Institute for Climate Economics.

For him, this new study has “took the problem the wrong way round.” The authors looked at the carbon emissions reductions that had already occurred. They then traced back to the climate policies that had produced the desired effects. The result: the biggest reductions in CO₂ emissions were not produced by a single measure, but always by at least two.

“Many policies are rather ineffective when used in isolation, but when thought of in combination and in complementarity with others, they prove to be very effective”explains economist Nicolas Koch, one of the authors of the study. “I believe this is the first time that researchers have provided scientific proof of this.”rejoices Gaïa Febvre, head of international policies for the Climate Action Network association.

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