According to research carried out by BNEF (BloombergNEF), the world's largest economies are far from having the correct plans to fulfill the green promises made at the COP21 climate conference in Paris in 2015.
The report assessed the decarbonization policies of G20 countries to measure which governments have implemented regimes to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement – which aims to reduce global warming – or more substantial decarbonization.
“The high-profile pledges over the past year in particular have been impressive with major economies such as the European Union, Japan, South Korea and China promising to reach 'net zero' emissions or carbon neutrality at some future date.”
“However, the reality is that countries simply have not done enough at home with follow-up policies to deliver on even the promises made more than five years ago,” said Victoria Cuming, head of global policy analysis at BNEF.
Much of the progress made so far globally in cutting the growth rate of CO₂ emissions has come from the energy sector, which has achieved the best collective score on its policies (58%).
Also according to Bloomberg, this occurred because all nations introduced some government support to promote clean technologies. “To achieve the Paris objectives, they will need to pay much more attention to other sectors, notably buildings and industry, which had average scores of 42% and 37%, respectively,” the study pointed out.
“While some energy sector policies have delivered results, most countries have done little in other parts of the economy. And even within each sector, it is not enough to implement incentives for a technology. Several paths are necessary”, highlighted Cuming.
Germany and France stand out
The survey found that Germany and France stood out for having the best combinations of policies in place to encourage decarbonization. In total, G20 countries achieved an economy-wide average score of 47%.
Leading nations, according to BNEF, took a greater number of robust and concrete measures to achieve their ambitious but achievable goals. “They introduced policies to drive change on both the supply and demand sides. Its processes are relatively transparent and predictable, and its initiatives are starting to have a measurable impact.”
