Publications

This report finds that growth strategies which fail to tackle poverty or climate change will prove to be unsustainable, and vice versa. A common denominator to the success of both agendas is infrastructure development. 

Momentum for a low-carbon economy is building, but much more needs to be done. International partnerships can help catalyse the economic growth and emissions reduction to get us there. The Global Commission makes 10 key recommendations in which partnerships can help deliver better growth and a better climate. 

This technical note sets out the analysis underpinning the emission reduction recommendations of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate’s 2015 report. It explains baseline scenarios and the estimate of the emissions required for a 2C pathway.

The costs of fossil fuel subsidies far outweigh the benefits when considering the full economic, social, and environmental impact of these subsidies in sub-Saharan Africa. If done right, phasing out fossil fuel subsidies in sub-Saharan Africa will lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduce air pollution, and create the fiscal space to provide access to energy and meet social development objectives. 

What happens to clean infrastructure finance when countries are big and fast-growing but have immature financial systems and a scarcity of long-term domestic investors? The Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) compares two different financing models from middle income countries: the highly centralized model of Brazil and the decentralized model from India. 

This paper documents the assumptions and analysis that underlie the presentation and discussion of the exhibit on the Global GHG Abatement Benefit and Co-benefit Curve: 2030 in our 2014 Better Growth, Better Climate report. This analysis emphasises the importance of considering a fuller range of benefits of actions to reduce carbon emissions when comparing these with higher-carbon alternatives.

Greater energy efficiency can benefit countries at all stages of development, but particularly fast-growing economies trying to achieve universal energy access with limited resources. By offering cost-effective opportunities to avoid new energy supply, energy efficiency is increasingly recognised as the “first fuel”. 

About US$90 trillion in infrastructure investment is needed globally by 2030 to achieve global growth expectations, particularly in developing countries. To achieve this, infrastructure investment needs to be both scaled up and climate objectives need to be integrated due to climate risks. The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate recommends that G20 and other countries adopt key principles ensuring the integration of climate risk and climate objectives in national infrastructure policies and plans. 

Most sub-Saharan households cook using traditional biomass stoves, and 200 million more will do so by 2020. For maximum health and environmental benefits, policymakers in sub-Saharan Africa should aim to transform their countries’ cookstove markets to drive a large-scale shift from traditional biomass to stoves using clean fuels or electricity.  

The report recommends that parties to the Montreal Protocol approve an amendment to phase down the production and use of HFCs. In addition, countries that are not already working to phase down HFCs should begin developing and implementing domestic regulations to do so, while also increasing their appliance energy efficiency standards. Incorporating HFC production and consumption into the Montreal Protocol would provide significant near-term gains to slow climate change and could lead to avoiding 1.1–1.7 GtCO2e of annual GHG emissions per year by 2030. 

What happens to clean infrastructure finance when countries are big and fast-growing but have immature financial systems and a scarcity of long-term domestic investors? The Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) compares two different financing models from middle income countries: the highly centralized model of Brazil and the decentralized model from India. While evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of each model, the paper finds both countries end up with public financing dominating clean infrastructure projects with similar levels of leverage in both. 

A staggering one-third of all agricultural landscapes are now degraded, mostly in developing countries, and a net 12 million hectares (ha) continue to be degraded yearly. But commitment to change is growing. The report highlights significant regional achievements being implemented, such as Initiative 20×20, through which seven Latin American countries and partners have pledged to bring 20 million ha of land into restoration by 2020, and the Africa Climate-Smart Agriculture Alliance, which aims to engage 6 million smallholders by 2021. 

Global aviation and shipping together produce about 5% of global CO2 emissions, and by 2050 this is expected to rise to 10–32%. Yet these sectors offer some of the most cost-effective emission reductions available today, particularly through improved fuel efficiency. The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate recommends that emissions from the international aviation and maritime sectors be reduced in line with a 2°C pathway through action under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). 

After several years at high levels, oil prices dropped by more than half between June 2014 and January 2015, leading many to ask questions about the implications for the economy and for countries’ and companies’ energy choices. Although such price swings have happened before, the issues being discussed are indeed quite important. 

There is significant further potential for simultaneously promoting economic growth and improving ecosystem protection within Brazil’s rural landscape. This report shows substantial improvements are already underway but better-functioning markets and policies can boost the pace of change and help the country to realize latent land use efficiency gains 

This analysis weighs the potential benefits and risks of relying on expanded natural gas expansion and use as a “bridge” to a lower-carbon energy future, based on a review of the research literature and of recent modelling studies, as well as interviews with sector experts. It also examines the extent to which natural gas could play such a role, and the conditions that would be required. 

An estimated one third of all food produced in the world ends up as waste. Reducing food waste is good for the economy, good for food security and good for the climate. In this report, the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) estimates the value of global consumer food waste at more than US$400 billion per year. 

The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate recommends that cities commit to developing and implementing low-carbon urban development strategies by 2020, using where possible the framework of the Compact of Mayors, prioritising policies and investments in public, non-motorised and low-emission transport, building efficiency, renewable energy and efficient waste management. The actions suggested could reduce annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 3.7 Gt CO2e by 2030. 

This paper Initiative argues that India’s efforts to achieve rapid, inclusive and sustainable development have been hampered in the past by pervasive inefficiencies that arise from market, policy and institutional failures and weaknesses. The paper finds that increased efficiency, investment and innovation can yield major development and environmental benefits: energy systems, agriculture and land use, and cities. 

This paper provides population, GDP and carbon emissions estimates up to 2030 for 69 cities across 35 countries in sub-Saharan Africa for which data is available. The analysis has been undertaken using the Oxford Economics’ Global Cities 2030 database (covering 750 cities) and other published data.