Reality Check: Lessons from 25 Policies Advancing a Low-Carbon Future

The case studies outlined in this report include the rapid expansion of solar power in India, a growing market for climate-smart agriculture in China, greener financial systems in Colombia, and the removal of fossil fuel subsidies in the Arab Republic of Egypt which are the result of well-designed policies and successful implementation and provide evidence that, with the right mix of political support and policy design development can be decarbonised. These policies are not necessarily the first-best policies advocated by analysts and economists, and some may not be best practice. But they are real policies that have been implemented in countries with very different income levels and political contexts, and they provide many insights on how countries can design and implement climate policies—and on the compromises that doing so can require.
The World Bank is sharing these case studies to inform current and future climate actions, but our work does not stop here. These case studies offer a useful snapshot of the current policy landscape, but they will be updated over time as policies evolve and improve and, hopefully, become more ambitious and more efficient. The case studies presented here also highlight a big gap in knowledge: most of them do not have a rigorous ex post assessment of their outcomes and performance, which would help countries improve design and learn from each other. More work is definitely needed to make sure we learn from the early movers, and this will be a key priority for the World Bank moving forward.