In July 2008, the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) launched North America’s first revenue-neutral carbon tax reform. The tax, which applied to all combustion sources of all fossil fuels, was introduced at a rate of CAD 10 per tonne of CO2, with a schedule for annual increases of CAD...

Beginning in late 2008, Ireland experienced a fiscal crisis. This resulted in November 2010 in agreement between the Irish government and the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – known collectively as ‘the Troika’ – whereby the latter...

Reform of support for fossil fuels is often identified as a priority for a country’s fiscal consolidation efforts and for climate action to align financial flows with low-carbon pathways. Its implementation, however, remains elusive for many countries as they face seemingly irreconcilable...

This paper analyses the effects of government policies on flows of private finance for investment in renewable energy (inducement effect). It also examines whether direct provision of public finance for a project increases the volume of private finance raised (“crowding in” effect). A unique...

This paper reviews the recent experience of Germany in encouraging innovation to reduce negative environmental impacts of economic activity. The essence of the German approach to policy-induced environmental innovation is discussed in the context of changing policy objectives, and illustrated...

This paper presents comparative data on innovation in selected climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies in the context of Africa. Such analysis informs policy aimed at encouraging international technology transfer and development of domestic innovation capacities. We present...

A striking variety of policy instruments are used in Victoria, Australia to achieve conservation objectives. These include highly active voluntary programmes, a variety of conservation grants, and a reverse auction for the provision of ecosystem services, known as EcoTender. An open question...

This report provides a review of recent firm-level and plant-level surveys containing questions on environmental policies, innovation practices or performance which are relevant for environmental policy analysis and assessment. We specifically focus on the core element that relates environmental...

This working paper undertakes econometric analysis to assess the impacts of climate mitigation policies and the quality of the investment environment on investment and innovation in renewable power in OECD and G20 countries. It also assesses how countries’ investment environments interact with...

This report investigates the effects of select climate policies, non-climate policies, as well as political economy factors on the decarbonisation of electricity in OECD countries from 2000 to 2015. Effects are analysed on the three phases of decarbonisation: (1) increasing the share of...