In this video, we will discuss some key policies that can be applied in virtually all countries but also many cities and companies.

Key takeaways

• Even if many options are available to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they will often not be implemented because of barriers like lack of knowledge, high prices, high initial investments, and organisational hurdles. On the other hand, government or other actors can help to overcome these barriers. Three mechanisms are most important for that: communication, regulation and economic incentives.
• A further distinction that can be made is between generic and specific policies. Generic policies focus on many sectors in one go, like carbon pricing. In contrast, specific policies often focus on just one sector or even on just one specific technology. The main sectors are power, transport, buildings and industry.
• It is important to note that often it is not the choice of the policy instrument that is most important but rather how it’s implemented.
• Much of this content was inspired by the book Designing Climate Solutions. It gives a better understanding of all these practical implementation issues for energy and climate policies.