INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR DOMESTIC CLIMATE POLICIES

The report argues that while developing countries often have domestic drivers for climate-beneficial policies (such as energy security and health), resource constraints and political priorities limit their scale. It suggests that international support should move beyond the Clean Development Mechanism's (CDM) project-specific approach toward supporting broader domestic policy frameworks. The authors advocate for the use of intermediate policy indicators and targets—rather than final emissions targets—to provide shorter feedback loops and early rewards for implementation. Case studies from Brazil, China, Ghana, India, and South Africa illustrate specific sectoral opportunities in transport, steel, wind power, and solar energy. The report concludes that such cooperation should be anchored in the UNFCCC to ensure transparency and a fair distribution of financial resources for incremental costs.

• Domestic policies with climate co-benefits are often more politically viable in developing countries when they align with socio-economic growth and immediate development needs, such as reducing pollution or improving energy security, rather than being primarily climate-centric.
• The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has limitations because it subsidises individual projects without necessarily removing systemic institutional or regulatory barriers, and it may create rents that do not support other mitigation measures.
• Effective policy implementation should rely on intermediate indicators and targets rather than final emissions reductions to avoid the uncertainties of long-term projections and to allow for shorter, more manageable time-frames (typically around 3 years).
• International support can increase regulatory stability and investor confidence by covering the incremental costs of policy implementation, thereby reducing the risks for domestic policymakers in resource-scarce countries.
• Technology transfer requires the growth of domestic markets and 'absorptive capacity'—including local skills and supply chains—to ensure that technologies are adapted to local needs and can be produced and maintained domestically.
• Absolute emissions targets are currently unsuitable for most developing countries due to high uncertainty in emissions projections and the institutional difficulty of translating long-term targets into short-term incentives.

APA

Neuhoff, K., S, W. Y., Machado-Filho, H., Thy, U., Cust, J., Gbone, L., Grant, K., Iliev, I., Lester, A., Magen, A., Singh, A., Sipple, M., Sreenivasamur, A., Pato, Z., & Zhang, X. (2008). INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR DOMESTIC CLIMATE POLICIES. Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/policy-summary-isdcp-2611081.pdf

Chicago

Neuhoff, Karsten, Wi Y S, Haroldo Machado-Filho, Umashank Thy, James Cust, Lliam Gbone, Kate Grant, et al. INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR DOMESTIC CLIMATE POLICIES. Climate Strategies, 2008. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/policy-summary-isdcp-2611081.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{neuhoff2008international, author = {Neuhoff, Karsten and S, Wi Y and Machado-Filho, Haroldo and Thy, Umashank and Cust, James and Gbone, Lliam and Grant, Kate and Iliev, Ilian and Lester, Arah and Magen, Amichai and Singh, Anoop and Sipple, Maike and Sreenivasamur, Ar and Pato, Zsuzsanna and Zhang, Xiliang}, title = {{INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR DOMESTIC CLIMATE POLICIES}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2008}, month = nov, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/policy-summary-isdcp-2611081.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }