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034 POLICY IMPLEMENTATIONFROM NEGOTIATIONS TO IMPLEMENTATION: STRENGTHENING GLOBAL RESPONSES TO CLIMATE CHANGEThe COP21 Paris Agreement1 represents a major milestone in international efforts to combat climate change. It specifies three overall aims. First, holding the global average surface temperature increase to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C, which will require countries to transition to zero net GHG emission economies by the end of the century. Second, increasing the ability to adapt to adverse climate impacts and foster resilience. Third, making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate-resilient development. The true measure of success, of course, will be in how effective governments are in implementing the Paris Agreement to achieve these goals. While different national circumstances are relevant, and the type or scale of actions will differ across developed and developing economies, all countries will need to meet these challenges. Fossil fuels are hard-wired into our economies, infrastructure and behaviours. Getting to zero net emissions will, therefore, require phased and wide-ranging action. It should begin immediately and be sustained over the coming decades, with implications for all sectors (Figure 1) and across different greenhouse gases (e.g. methane and nitrous oxide as well as carbon dioxide) and pollutants such as black carbon. In addition, governments must focus on policy implementation within the currently fragile economic recovery. For example, decreasing growth in global trade is being exacerbated by a slowdown in emerging market economies2; subdued investment and productivity growth continues to weigh on the economic recovery in advanced economies. A virtual halving of market capitalisation in the European electricity generation sector and sustained low oil prices add further complexity.3How, then, might governments start to craft domestic policies that will deliver the transition to a low-emissions climate resilient economy in line with the Paris Agreement, while continuing to support growth? What role will government policies in areas like innovation need to play? Figure 1: Emissions reductions are needed across all sectorsANGEL GURRÍA, SECRETARY-GENERAL, THE ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT (OECD)Source: IIPCC (2014), “Summary for Policymakers”, Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/wg3/ipcc_wg3_ar5_summary-for-policymakers.pdfGreenhouse Gas Emissions by Economic SectorsEnergy1.4%Industry11%AFOLU24%Buildings6.4%Transport14%Industry21%OtherEnergy9.6%Transport0.3%Buildings12%AFOLU0.87%Direct EmissionsIndirect C02 EmissionsElectricity and Heat Production25%
