Raising Ambition

The Climate Policy Lab has already had success with the Policy Gap Analysis (PGA) methodology in China and India. The work for China was published in Nature Communications and, for India, CPL Policy Brief. Following the studies on China and India, Turkey and IPC joined the project, along with five other emerging economies: Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa, and Vietnam. Additionally, CPL has been engaging with the governments of Ethiopia and Colombia as potential regional role models.

By employing the PGA methodology, the project evaluates the efficacy of current policies and explores innovative approaches for deep decarbonization. This collaborative endeavor brings together local and international stakeholders in a six-step process:

• Create a detailed, open access climate policy inventory (economy-wide, sector-by-sector, ministry-by-ministry).
• Survey in-country and international experts and officials to determine which policies are, or could be, most important to achieve near-term emissions reductions.
• Gather country-specific data to customize the Energy Policy Simulator system dynamics model and use this model to showcase the different outcomes of existing policies with potential new policy scenarios. The aim is to simultaneously stimulate economic growth and job creation while transitioning to a low-carbon economy. This effort is conducted in close partnership with Energy Innovation and one or more local partners, facilitating further research and engaging with governments to enhance policy effectiveness.
• Inform governments and in-country partners about the results, get their input, and iteratively run new scenarios.
• Assist governments with designing more ambitious NDCs and mid-century deep decarbonization strategies.
• Conduct capacity building and training on the policy gap analysis, the modeling, and the insights for both government officials as well as in-country experts.

An inventory of Turkey's climate adaptation and mitigation policies is being developed, with preparations starting in 2023. The other step of the project, a survey to measure the impact of Turkey's climate adaptation and mitigation policies with experts, is being prepared.