Cutting Carbon Emissions
Over 12,000 municipal authorities in Europe have taken action to combat climate change by joining the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, an initiative launched by the European Commission in 2008, and then extended to the global level, which aims to link local actions with European and international initiatives. What policies have been adopted by European local governments to implement the decarbonization commitments undertaken by signing the pact? What results were obtained? What factors influence the implementation and effectiveness of local policies to cut emissions?
In a recent paper authored by economists of the Bocconi GREEN research center (Edoardo Croci, Benedetta Lucchitta, Tania Molteni, Andrea Burro), and the Joint Research Center (JRC) of the European Commission (Paolo Bertoldi, Valentina Palermo, Giulia Melica) my colleagues and I have explored these issues by analyzing the policy measures and results achieved from a qualitative and quantitative point of view by a sample of cities.
We analyzed the policies included in the Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) and the reduction of CO2 emissions achieved through the implementation of SEAPs by approximately 1,300 cities that signed the Covenant of Mayors, considering more than 45,600 actions in various policy areas.
Overall, the cities included in the sample reduced emissions by approximately a quarter (24%), in line with the objectives set out in the SEAPs. The analysis shows that actions by cities in terms of transport, local electricity production, lighting and industry are effective in reducing emissions. Furthermore, "command and control" policies, i.e. regulatory interventions, are more effective than other types. In fact, local authorities have various levers at their disposal - regulatory, economic and fiscal, communication and information to citizens and businesses - to promote urban management and transformation in line with decarbonization objectives.
The analysis also evaluated the relationship between economic, territorial and climatic factors and the effectiveness in policy implementation. Among these, the urban dimension, density and availability of economic resources are correlated with greater effectiveness.
Overall, the findings of this study suggest that local governments should adopt a combination of different policy tools and measures that can work in a complementary way with each other. For example, information and awareness initiatives can assist the implementation of regulatory or economic policies.
Defining the right mix of policies requires having adequate knowledge of emissions sources, and the economic, social and regulatory context; to plan measures and resources in order to guarantee coherence and multi-level integration; to involve public and private actors who can implement and activate the necessary investments. Finally, to inform citizens and firms, raise awareness with a large number of publics, and monitor the results obtained. Monitoring and evaluation in fact represent indispensable tools to support the implementation of policies, review them, and adapt them over time through corrective actions.
