We are pleased to release this new OECD report on A Territorial Approach to Climate Action and Resilience. This report has been jointly produced by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE) and the OECD Environment Directorate (ENV), with the support of the Government of Japan.

This report presents the findings from the activities of the OECD Programme on "A Territorial Approach to Climate Action and Resilience”, jointly conducted by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE) and the OECD Environment Directorate (ENV). The Programme provides both national and subnational policymakers with granular data and tailored guidance to promote a place-based approach to climate mitigation and adaptation. Its activities include:

This report proposes a policy framework to help decision makers develop more effective climate and resilience policies through a “territorial approach”. A territorial approach to climate action and resilience is defined as ‘a comprehensive policy framework that integrates a place-based perspective into national and subnational climate policies and mainstreams climate objectives into urban, rural and regional development policies, to effectively drive climate action at all territorial scales.’ Adopting a territorial approach is critical for national and subnational governments to tap into the full potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across all places and better address locally specific climate impacts, which often hit the most vulnerable communities the hardest.

Global warming is likely to reach 1.5 degrees Celsius as early as 2030, with a growing risk of crossing “tipping points” that trigger potentially abrupt and irreversible changes to the environment. However, both national and subnational governments’ climate actions fall short of meeting the Paris Agreement goals. An untapped opportunity lies in adopting a territorial approach to climate action and resilience, which can both improve the effectiveness of national climate policy and accelerate local climate action. This chapter introduces the concept of a territorial approach and discusses how it can be a game changer in driving the net zero transition and building systemic climate resilience.

Building on the OECD Regional and Metropolitan Databases, the OECD indicator framework on localising the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the OECD International Programme for Action on Climate (IPAC), this chapter presents a territorial climate indicator framework designed to monitor climate action and resilience efforts in cities and regions in a globally comparable manner. The framework also incorporates a method to measure the distance of cities and regions to net zero objectives. The chapter provides technical guidance on how to use the framework as a tool to better understand the diversity of local greenhouse gas emissions and emission reduction potential, as well as locally specific impacts and risks of climate change, all of which can help inform place‑specific climate strategies.

This chapter provides an initial assessment of local climate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, climate impacts and risks, applying the territorial indicator framework presented in Chapter 2 to OECD countries at different subnational levels. The chapter analyses 21 out of the proposed 45 indicators. It provides an overview of where OECD regions and cities stand in their journey toward climate neutrality by 2050, along with a discussion of the associated impacts and risks of climate change. The results reveal large territorial disparities within countries in terms of GHG emissions, mitigation potential as well as vulnerability to climate change. Such results reiterate the need for a territorial approach to climate and resilience policies.

This chapter assesses how national and subnational governments are implementing a territorial approach to climate action and resilience. The assessment focuses on three dimensions: i) integrating a place-based perspective into climate policy; ii) “climate-proofing” regional development policy at all territorial levels; and iii) enabling and scaling up local climate action. It applies the “actions and opportunities” indicators within the OECD territorial climate indicator framework presented in Chapter 2 and draws on an analysis of 36 leading practices from countries, regions and cities, mainly in the OECD area. The result of the assessment is summarised in a set of nine recommended actions for both national and subnational governments. Detailed and concrete sub-actions have been proposed and summarised in tables for each recommended action, serving as a policy checklist.