A Review of Intergovernmental Cooperation on the Mitigation of Climate Change

This working paper analyzes over 90 intergovernmental alliances and partnerships focused on climate change mitigation. It finds a fragmented landscape dominated by developed countries, where most initiatives prioritize knowledge sharing over the achievement of quantified targets or policy adoption.

• The landscape of intergovernmental cooperation on climate mitigation is fragmented and lacks consistency in its objectives. While cooperation exists across all economic sectors, energy supply is the most prominent area of activity.
• Developed countries are the dominant participants in these initiatives. While some emerging economies are active, they are not always engaged in areas most critical to their own emissions.
• The majority of analyzed initiatives (67 percent) focus on sharing knowledge, with very few aiming for the adoption of national policies or the attainment of specific targets. Quantified targets are primarily found in the energy supply sector, though indicators and levels of establishment vary greatly.
• Sectoral cooperation varies significantly: transport initiatives mostly focus on zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) with only one addressing the entire sector, while the buildings sector has few initiatives targeting direct emissions.
• While operational infrastructure for these initiatives is generally robust, there is a significant lack of transparency arrangements across many of the analyzed projects.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). A Review of Intergovernmental Cooperation on the Mitigation of Climate Change. https://www.wri.org/research/review-intergovernmental-cooperation-mitigation-climate-change

Chicago

World Resources Institute. A Review of Intergovernmental Cooperation on the Mitigation of Climate Change. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/review-intergovernmental-cooperation-mitigation-climate-change.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=A Review of Intergovernmental Cooperation on the Mitigation of Climate Change |url=https://www.wri.org/research/review-intergovernmental-cooperation-mitigation-climate-change |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendreview, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{A Review of Intergovernmental Cooperation on the Mitigation of Climate Change}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/review-intergovernmental-cooperation-mitigation-climate-change}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }