Global | Do Climate Policies Deliver?

Summary

This note provides a dynamic, cross-country assessment of how international climate commitments and national cross-sectoral policies relate to emissions intensity. It examines how these relationships vary over time, around the Paris Agreement, and across countries at different stages of decarbonisation.

Key points

• Key points:
• International vs. Domestic Policy Impact: Both international commitments and national cross-sectoral policies are associated with sustained declines in emissions intensity, but international policy tightening delivers a faster and larger effect, consistent with its role as a credible global benchmark shaping domestic decarbonisation paths.
• Post-Paris Domestic Effectiveness: National cross-sectoral policies appear more effective after the Paris Agreement entered into force, suggesting strengthened domestic implementation frameworks, although the statistically significant impact is limited.
• Role of Institutional Capacity: Countries with higher regulatory quality experience larger emissions-intensity reductions overall, with institutional strength significantly amplifying the effectiveness of national cross-sectoral policies in the medium term.
• Non-linear Responses Across Emitters: The emissions response to international and domestic policy stringency is strongest at the lowest and highest ends of the emissions-intensity

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