Evaluating the Implementation and Effectiveness of Environmental Policies to Carbon Footprint Reduction: A Global Approach to Climate Change Mitigation

The current global average carbon emissio issue is vital for the formulation and implementation of efficient policies to reduce CO2 emissions. This study assessed the performance of the four interventions of carbon price, renewable electricity, REDD policy and energy intensity in 6 regions from 2000-2020. The aim was to assess their effectiveness concerning the reduction of carbon emissions (CE) and determine trends and potentialities for further climate change management. Data from six regions, Germany, Brazil, China, South Africa, the United States, and the European Union (EU), were used to measure the CO₂ emission reduction contribution of each policy. Germany achieved 28 % by an uptake in Renewable Energy (RE), which was 30 %, and carbon pricing policy, which was 25 %. Brazil’s reduction was in the range of 12%, with deforestation policies accounting for 18%, while China, reduced emissions in the range of 14% mainly through RE, which accounted for 18%. South Africa realized a 10 % reduction driven, by a balanced input from each of the 4 measures. The United States achieved an efficiency improvement of 18% mainly due to the carbon price and RE sources. These main findings give useful information about the global effectiveness of the main policies aimed at decreasing CO _{2} emissions and may serve as a reference for creating further climate change policies.