- Firm
- Provisional
- Coming soon
- Revised
- Firm
- Provisional
- Coming soon
- Revised
How well are we doing?
Many of the 41 countries covered by the tracker are starting to see relatively strong and consistent performance in planning for a green economy. This partly reflects that designing a national green economy plan is often the first step for countries looking to reform their economies, and that several of the countries reviewed are green economy leaders in their regions in having taken this initial step - with varying levels of ambition. A new trend to watch is that emerging economic giants like China and India are starting to better integrate environmental commitments into economic planning, and even developing countries like Uganda and Senegal are raising their green economy ambition - with Ethiopia setting a world leading pace on planning.
However, the vast majority of these country plans aren’t yet
ambitious enough to deliver on the Paris Agreement, UN Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), and protecting nature. Only Sweden, Costa Rica, and the previously mentioned Ethiopia are reaching our highest level of planning ambition, with a large trailing group as diverse as Barbados, France, Mongolia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal, Japan, Malaysia, Colombia and Morocco
- all close behind but in need of more detailed targets and practical
commitments to match their ambition. To reach our highest score,
planners also need to ensure that national policy architecture is sound as a whole, with countries like New Zealand and Canada
needing to do more to align their plans with existing NDC
commitments, or iron out structural loopholes which weaken their overall
effectiveness.
Some countries plans, such as those of South Africa and Bangladesh,
were ambitious and comprehensive when they were first announced but
have since been surpassed and are in dire need of updating. Others, such
as those of Rwanda and Mozambique,
while commendable, were not fully integrated within national policy and struggled in setting out initial steps for implementation.
Notable laggards who have strides to make on planning include Trinidad & Tobago, Botswana, Turkey, Serbia, Argentina and Brazil - with relatively mediocre planning by Australia, Italy, USA, and Spain which is somewhat disappointing. And trailing the pack as it stands are Saudi Arabia and Peru - yet to produce a plan at all. Across
the board, as we look ahead, delivery and implementation of this new
wave of green economy plans and targets will be the crucial next step
for governments.
We can create a world with clean air and water, unlimited energy and fish stocks that will sustain us well into the future. But to do that, we need a plan.
About this policy
Restructuring our economies to be sustainable and inclusive is a complicated process. It’s vitally important, therefore, for governments to develop a national green economy plan. This is a holistic strategy that links climate, nature, and the economy together, ensuring that all other economic and environmental policies, and public and private sector actors, are working together to deliver change.
This kind of planning helps national governments integrate their commitments under different international frameworks, such as the Paris Agreement’s climate targets, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), or the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Ultimately, a green economy plan must establish a clear path for economic reform, and set a high level of ambition to drive change - for example, achieving a net-zero carbon economy by at least 2050.
Different countries have undertaken very different levels of planning. Some have no overall strategy for transitioning to a green economy, and only out-dated or weak pledges to reduce carbon. Enforcement or accountability can be low or non-existent, representing mere paper commitments.
By contrast, highly ambitious plans with a depth of detail and commitment are increasingly emerging and raising the bar for good policy. The challenge for many developing economies is keeping well intentioned plans up-to-date and relevant, while creating the kind of credible governance necessary to support implementation.
Case Study: Sweden
Sweden is currently the strongest performer on green economy planning, with a comprehensive approach that takes seriously the idea of "greening" the whole economy. This reflects Sweden’s long history of green leadership – it introduced the world’s first carbon tax in 1991 – and its inclusive culture, where cooperation and equality help build support for environmental ambition. Rather than one green economy ‘master plan’, Sweden has iterated dozens of separate policies over time, such as electric vehicles support or the 2017 Climate Act. In this way, Sweden has prioritised flexibility, without sacrificing long-term strategic vision.
Sweden Country Profile
Case Study: France
Reflecting its centralised traditions, France’s approach to green planning has focused on a single comprehensive plan, and a powerful ministry to implement it. Building on the ambition of the Paris Agreement, France has attempted to put all the tools needed to build a low carbon economy into a single piece of legislation: the Stratégie Nationale bas Carbone. Although it has yet to set a goal for full decarbonisation (this is expected soon), France leads the world on integrating the protection of nature and biodiversity, not just climate, into economic policy.