Top 5 successful climate change policies across the globe
With the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, countries around the world have committed to a legally binding treaty on climate change.
In 2022, 194 Parties out of 198 Parties to the Convention joined the accord in an attempt to strengthen the global response to the serious threat of climate change. Let’s take a look at the top five successful climate change policies from across the globe.
5. Seoul’s virtual power plant
Seoul, South Korea, developed a Virtual Power Plant that has directed over $178,000 in energy savings per year towards retrofitting over 2,000 low-income homes.
In doing so, the city installed around 1,600 photovoltaic panels and, in turn, created over 180 jobs for locals.
The plant comprises 17 municipal buildings and 16 universities. These bodies work together to conserve energy and lower costs.
The goal of the plant is to create a network between energy consumers, storage facilities, and producers and connect them all to a digital platform. Thus, the platform uses energy data to predict the forecast peaks and dips in demand.
As part of the program, the city asks participants to use the money saved to combat the energy burden in low-income homes and communities. In 2019, the Seoul government announced plans to expand the plants to 100MQ by 2025.
4. Solar-powered medical care in Chhattisgarh
One of the most successful climate change policies from around the globe comes from Chhattisgarh, India. The region was plagued by blackouts in hospitals.
In turn, the Health Ministry partnered with the state-run Chhattisgarh State Renewable Development Agency to use solar power to improve the problem.
984 hospitals in this part of India now run on uninterrupted solar energy. This policy meant that energy costs were reduced by 80% compared to the grid or backup diesel as a means of power.
This isn’t the only initiative Chhattisgarh has taken towards tackling climate change. In 2018, through an afforestation drive, they aimed to plant 80 million trees across the districts.
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3. Denmark and fossil fuels
Based on the 2022 Climate Change Performance Index, Denmark was ranked as the number one country for achievements in climate protection.
This year, the Danish government announced plans to cut 70% of overall carbon emissions by 2030. In doing so, the plan is that domestic flights will be devoid of fossil fuels by the same year. Furthermore, it hopes to be entirely independent from fossil fuels by the year 2050.
As one of the most environmentally friendly countries in the world, The Climate Act is one of the most successful climate change policies from across the globe, as in 2021, less than 30% of Denmark’s power production was derived this way.
2. New Zealand’s ‘Zero Carbon Bill’
Climate action is a leading priority of New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden. The ‘Zero Carbon Bill’ commits New Zealand into the Paris Agreement by law and also commits the country to being carbon neutral by the year 2050, much like Denmark.
While this is an ambitious goal, it has proven to be working, as, by 2022, the renewable share from electricity generation increased between 2020 and 2021.
New Zealand is one of the few countries committed to have net zero emissions by 2050, and it’s one of the key policies that the Prime Minister is determined to carry through.
The country is powered mostly by renewable energy sources, around 82%. This includes geothermal, hydro, and wind energy. The Carbon Neutral Government Programme (CNGP) has been put in place to accelerate the reduction of emissions within the public sector.
- Bhutan and carbon negativity
Bhutan is one of the only countries in the world to achieve carbon-negative status, along with Suriname and Panada.
These countries stand out from the rest of the world because they absorb more greenhouse gases than they emit. As the only three countries in the world to achieve this status, they were dubbed the “holy trinity of negative carbon” by many.
The country made a bold promise to remain carbon neutral forever. However, they did not only achieve carbon neutrality but carbon negativity.
This means that greenhouse gas pollution the country produces is in the negative due to the generation and export of renewable energy.
