Latest Documents

Economic interactions between climate change and outdoor air pollution - Environment Working Paper

Climate change and outdoor air pollution are two of the most challenging environmental issues that modern society faces. This paper presents the first global analysis of the joint economic consequences of climate change and outdoor air pollution to 2060, in the absence of new policies to address these challenges.

Centre on Green Finance and Investment

Investment in the green economy needs to take place on a greater scale over coming decades if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the ambition of the Paris Agreement. To support these objectives, the Centre’s mission helps to catalyse and to support the transition to a green, low-emissions and climate-resilient economy through the development of policies, institutions and instruments for green finance and investment.

Adaptation to climate change

Efforts to significantly reduce greenhouse gases need to be complemented with co-ordinated response to build resilience. Climate adaptation policies reduce the adverse consequences of climate impacts that are already underway and helps societies proactively prepare for the future. Find out more on how the OECD is working to support governments in planning and implementing effective, efficient and equitable adaptation policies.

Global Forum on the Environment and Climate Change - organised by the Climate Change Expert Group (CCXG) - March 2019

This event focused on the implication of COP24 outcomes and the implementation of the Rulebook, as well as on upcoming work on unresolved issues such as Article 6. Discussions covered Common Tabular Format (CTF) for climate finance and tracking progress towards the mitigation targets and updating and implementing NDCs, with a particular attention to the power sector and carbon markets.

Responding to Rising Seas - OECD Country Approaches to Tackling Coastal Risks

Vintage differentiated regulations and plant survival: Evidence from coal-fired plants - Environment Working Paper

This paper assesses the effect of environmental regulations on plant survival and emissions using data on the extent of vintage differentiation of regulations (VDR5) regarding air pollution emission limit values for existing and new coal-fired power plants. Focussing on NOx and SOx emissions, the paper applies survival analysis techniques on a sample of generating units across 31 OECD and non-member countries between 1962 and 2012.

Case study: Digital Finance and Citizen Action

Opportunities for climate mitigation and adaptation lie in the shift to climate-smart infrastructure, as laid out in the report "Financing Climate Futures: Rethinking Infrastructure", by the OECD, UN Environment and the WorldBank Group. This report shows that limiting warming to 1.5°C will involve “annual average investment needs in the energy system of around US$2.4 trillion” between 2016 and 2035.

Case Study: Achieving Clean Energy Access in Sub-Saharan Africa

A clean energy revolution in sub-Saharan Africa is urgently needed to win the fight against energy poverty, to promote robust development and to make it more sustainable. As part as the Financing Climate Futures initiative by the OECD, UN Environment and the WorldBank Group, this report takes an in-depth look at the challenges and opportunities to provide clean energy access in sub-Saharan Africa.

Article: The Trillion-Dollar Question: How Can We Unlock the Money Needed to Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy?

At a time when nationalism is rising and individual countries are facing a growing array of threats, it is critical that we recognize a shared and unprecedented global challenge: We need to double our infrastructure in the next decade to meet global development needs, while achieving a systematic shift away from business-as-usual, carbon-intensive options to low-emissions, resilient infrastructure, to avoid catastrophic climate change.

Key takeaways from the High-Level Breakfast on Institutional Investors and the Low-carbon Transition

On 10 December in Katowice, the 9th annual High-Level Breakfast on Institutional Investors and the Low-carbon Transition, co-hosted by the OECD and the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), highlighted significant progress in mobilising green institutional investment, as well as important remaining challenges.