Work

Dedicated climate ministries help to reduce carbon emissions

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Several countries have introduced dedicated national climate ministries in the last two decades. However, we know little about the consequences of these ministries. We demonstrate that the introduction of climate ministries helps to reduce carbon emissions. A difference-in-differences analysis of a global sample of countries reveals robust and statistically significant evidence that introducing a dedicated climate ministry lowers carbon emissions substantially. At the same time, establishing such climate ministries does not significantly influence the introduction of new climate policies. This indicates that climate ministries primarily amplify climate action by improving the effectiveness of the governmental measures taken rather than by increasing the number of climate policies themselves.

Source: npj Climate Action

DOI: 10.1038/s44168-024-00147-9

Authors: Julian Limberg, Yves Steinebach, Jacob Nyrup

Institutions: King's College London, University of Oslo

Language: English

Topic: Climate Change Policy and Economics

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Climate action

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,290