Most experts and observers agree on the great potential of actions by non-state and subnational actors to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Little is known however, about the actual performance of such actions.
In a new publication in Climate Policy, 52 non-state and subnational climate actions, announced at the 2014 UN Climate Summit, are assessed on their output performance, or the production of relevant outputs – to understand whether they are likely to deliver desired social and environmental impacts. The authors also systematically analyze to which extent climate actions are implemented across developing and developed countries.
The good news is that climate actions are starting to deliver. However, imbalances between developing and developed countries remain great. While many actions target low-income and lower-middle-income economies, the implementation gap in these countries remains wider. Based on their analysis, the authors argue for a post-Paris action agenda which specifically addresses the large implementation gap of climate actions in developing countries, as well as the more effective engagement of private sector actors in climate actions.
The publication is freely available online. Read more here.
