The researchers studied about 1,500 climate policies from 41 countries, identifying the 63 most effective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The leading candidates differed depending on the country and sector, and policy combinations tended to perform best. For example, in developed economies like New Zealand, the best single policy for reducing transport emissions was pricing, but combining subsidies with pricing was more effective.
In the electricity sector, regulation worked to some extent as an individual policy, but combinations of policies that involve pricing were more successful.
However, the authors of the study state that even if all the countries in their study could replicate past success through effective policies, efforts would need to be several times greater to close the emissions gap by 2030.
