Policy Brief in 2025

We consider potential non-permanence of carbon removal not as an obstacle but as a feature to focus on the compensation for the short-term warming of methane emissions. This could re-open climate finance for nature-based solutions and provide an immediate reduction in temperature stress.

Future exposure to coastal flooding in China is driven more by growing populations and economic activity rather than by rising seas and intensifying storm surges. Policymakers must anticipate these multiple risk drivers to better inform spatial planning and development strategies and to ensure effective, sustainable coastal adaptation.

Current European Union policies are insufficient to achieve residential heating decarbonization targets. Substantial subsidies for heat pumps and carefully targeted incentives for home renovation are critical to efficiently and affordably meet climate goals. We emphasize the importance of adapting strategies to national contexts.

Many governments have adopted policies to reduce fossil fuel subsidies, but these policies almost always fail within three years. Policymakers should find new strategies to trim subsidies and promote renewable energy without triggering political backlash.

Oceans are on the frontline of an array of new marine–climate actions that are both poorly understood and under-regulated. Development and deployment of these interventions is outpacing governance readiness to address risks and ensure responsible transformation and effective action.

The interactions between mitigation policies could hinder China’s progress toward carbon neutrality by limiting the space for effective policy implementation. Policymakers should emphasize optimizing the combination of these policies to ensure efficient decarbonization.