12 policies to unlock deep decarbonisation

The document outlines 12 key policy interventions to accelerate the transition of hard-to-abate sectors, categorised into simplifying pathways, steering risk and opportunity, derisking green investments, and facilitating essential resource flows.

• To provide clarity for sustainable investment, the document recommends establishing scientific standards and national or regional taxonomies that align with international frameworks, such as the EU-China Common Ground Taxonomy (CGT).
• Mandatory climate and nature-related disclosures are advocated to ensure investor confidence, specifically requiring full value chain disclosures and the publication of 1.5°C-aligned transition plans.
• Energy Transition Mechanisms (ETMs) are proposed to manage the early decommissioning of fossil fuel infrastructure to avoid disorderly asset stranding, with a note that South Africa's USD 8.5bn Just Energy Transition Partnership Investment Plan consists of only 3% grant financing.
• The briefing argues for economy-wide carbon pricing and the phaseout of fossil fuel subsidies, which reached USD 1tn per year in 2022, to improve the business case for green technologies.
• To prevent carbon leakage and incentivise global action, the document suggests implementing Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms (CBAM) that apply local carbon prices to imports of carbon-intensive goods.
• Derisking instruments, including direct subsidies, guarantees, and blended finance, are essential to lower the cost of capital for innovative technologies; for example, the InvestEU Fund uses a EUR 26.2bn budget guarantee to mobilise over EUR 372bn in investment.
• Contracts for Difference (CfDs) and Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfDs) are recommended to provide revenue certainty for low-carbon producers by covering the cost gap between green and conventional production.
• The document highlights the need for priority infrastructure investment in electricity grids, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and hydrogen clusters to prevent bottlenecks in the net-zero energy mix.
• Green public procurement (GPP) is identified as a powerful tool given that public bodies spend approximately USD 11tn annually, with procurement representing 25% of demand for steel and 40% for cement.
• To safeguard the transition, the document calls for diversifying the supply of critical raw materials, noting that 75% of lithium, cobalt, and rare earths are currently produced in only three countries.

APA

Burge, L., & Passaro, F. (2023). 12 policies to unlock deep decarbonisation. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/12-Policies-to-Unlock-Deep-Decarbonisation.pdf

Chicago

Burge, Lily, and Fabio Passaro. 12 policies to unlock deep decarbonisation. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2023. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/12-Policies-to-Unlock-Deep-Decarbonisation.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Burge |first1=Lily |last2=Passaro |first2=Fabio |title=12 policies to unlock deep decarbonisation |publisher=Climate Bonds Initiative |date=June 2023 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/12-Policies-to-Unlock-Deep-Decarbonisation.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{burge2023policies, author = {Burge, Lily and Passaro, Fabio}, title = {{12 policies to unlock deep decarbonisation}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/12-Policies-to-Unlock-Deep-Decarbonisation.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }