Publications & Documents

The Paris Agreement maps out a path for internationally coordinated efforts to curb global warming. At the centre of the Paris Agreement are Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that establish countries’ plans to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as adapt to the impacts of climate change. However, mitigation contributions defined in NDCs are different across countries in terms of target types, coverage of sectors and gases. This makes it challenging to assess progress on mitigation commitments. To complement the UNFCCC efforts, and facilitate the evaluation and monitoring of targets, this paper develops a methodology that harmonises countries’ 2030 mitigation targets in physical units and provide clarity on sector and gas coverage. The results are used to develop the GHG Emission Trends and Targets (GETT) indicators for non-EU countries and the EU-27 covered under the International Programme for Action on Climate (IPAC). The GETT indicators support the analyses of emissions' trajectories by describing historical GHG emission trends and comparing them to NDC emission targets, considering various reference years and indicators, including emissions intensity per capita or per unit of GDP.

This roadmap is designed to aid North Macedonia’s government in establishing a solid policy foundation for a successful transition to a circular economy. As an EU candidate country, North Macedonia has pledged to align with European climate objectives, endorsing the Sofia Declaration on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, with a particular focus on the circular economy transition. Acknowledging the pivotal role of this transition in national and regional development and actively addressing challenges posed by climate change, reliance on imported raw materials and increased waste, North Macedonia is ready for a strategic framework and concrete actions to initiate this transformative process. Derived from a comprehensive diagnostic of North Macedonia’s circular economy landscape, the roadmap strategically integrates existing policy initiatives, fostering synergies across sectors, measures and involved actors. It emphasises five key areas – circular business models for SMEs, construction, biomass and food, textile industry and mining and metallurgy – revealing over 40 policy recommendations. These recommendations, supported by a monitoring framework, are poised to be a cornerstone for propelling North Macedonia towards a more sustainable and circular future.

Chile has made important strides on its environmental agenda in recent years with the passage of the Framework Law on Climate Change, the establishment of the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service and the ratification of the Escazú Agreement. However, the country has made limited progress in decoupling environmental pressures from economic growth. Greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise and the country is not on track to reach its legally binding target of net zero by 2050. Chile is well-positioned to achieve its targets for biodiversity, while air pollution remains a serious public health challenge and waste management relies heavily on landfilling. Chile is facing a severe and deepening water crisis that requires concerted action to improve water allocation and water quality, and to strengthen water governance. The review provides 36 recommendations to help Chile improve its environmental performance, with a special focus on water management and policies. This is the third Environmental Performance Review of Chile. It provides an independent, evidence-based evaluation of the country’s environmental performance since the previous review in 2016.

La présente note exploratoire propose une vue d’ensemble, de haut niveau, des principales approches utilisées pour le calcul des indicateurs de l’intensité carbone au niveau des produits et des secteurs ainsi que des difficultés rencontrées, notamment en ce qui concerne la collecte et la vérification des informations dans l’ensemble de la chaîne logistique. Bien que l’analyse porte essentiellement sur les approches utilisées dans les secteurs à forte intensité d’émissions et exposés aux échanges commerciaux (FIEEEC), les conclusions peuvent aussi être plus largement pertinentes dans d’autres secteurs. Dans cette analyse, les difficultés liées au calcul des indicateurs de l’intensité carbone au niveau des secteurs seront prises en compte, en particulier eu égard au fait que ces indicateurs peuvent servir eux-mêmes à la construction des indicateurs au niveau des produits.

In recent years, the Philippines has increased its commitment to climate action and its efforts to decarbonise the domestic economy. The power sector in the Philippines accounts for 58% of the country’s overall carbon emissions and will be an important driver of domestic emission reduction efforts to meet national climate and energy targets. Renewables, such as offshore wind, are expected to play a key role in the transition toward a low-carbon energy mix. With more than 17 thousand kilometres of coastline, the Philippines is estimated to have an offshore wind potential of 178 GW. However, this potential has yet to be leveraged. Alongside a changing power sector, progress on energy efficiency is needed to achieve the country’s emission reduction goals, with energy savings estimated at approximately 2% annually for the residential and commercial sectors. To deliver a clean energy transition, the Philippines requires estimated cumulative investments of over USD 300 billion between now and 2040. This report outlines key actions needed to unlock finance and investment in offshore wind power and energy efficiency in public buildings. It also provides a comprehensive overview of the progress to date and the challenges to mobilise near-term finance in those sectors, assist the Philippines transition towards a low-carbon economy, and achieve broader development goals.

State-of-the-art scientific evidence shows that our planet is approaching several environmental and climate tipping points faster than previously expected. This means that the international community is facing a rapidly closing window of opportunity to achieve profound transformations across sectors, systems and mindsets to secure a sustainable and liveable future. What is the role of education system in enabling social change at the massive scale and pace needed for climate change mitigation? And what policy levers can they employ to build resilience and adapt to environmental challenges? This paper explores ways to rethink educational approaches in the context of climate change, focussing primarily on school education, while exploring links to other levels of education. It looks specifically at strategies to restructure foundational science education and cross-curricular learning, zooms in on the potential of place-based approaches in empowering learners for action, and concludes by identifying policy levers to increase education system resilience.

This report on scaling up clean hydrogen financing provides a unique and in-depth proposal to transform ideas into attractive investment projects. It highlights how policy and financial risk mitigation mechanisms play a critical role in slashing the funding gap and reducing the cost of hydrogen generation. The findings promise to boost clean hydrogen lighthouse projects to revolutionize this multi-billion-dollar industry, so that emerging markets and developing countries can successfully participate in this nascent sector.

As climate change increases exposure to natural disasters, countries need new solutions to mitigate risks of natural hazards. For many in Asia and the Pacific, mobilising existing resources is not enough: they need to consider a grand design of disaster risk financing strategies. Catastrophe bonds (CAT bonds) can be an effective, market-based financing tool for the region. While the global CAT bond market has grown steadily since the 1990s, it remains weakly developed in Asia and the Pacific. Its successful development there requires robust purpose-built legal frameworks; developed general bond markets, especially in local currency; appropriate capacity building; and data-driven pricing models. This report explores each of these conditions along with policy suggestions for fostering them, and discusses the development of multi-country CAT bonds in Asia and the Pacific.

This report presents developments of the work of the Inclusive Forum on Carbon Mitigation Approaches (IFCMA) to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, and reflect on the IFCMA’s achievements one year on from its launch in February 2023.

Many ocean economic activities are not readily visible in official statistics, hindering policymakers' access to crucial information for decision making. The OECD ocean economy measurement project aims to address this by aligning ocean economy statistics with broader economic data and ensuring international consistency. This paper compares the measurement strategies of eight OECD member countries using principles from the system of national accounts. It also highlights the ocean economy thematic accounts of four countries and summarises their methods. The paper concludes with recommendations for integrating ocean economy measurements with national accounting standards, a vital step for improving the evidence base for ocean policymaking.