Plate Nº 14 · recorded November 13, 2026
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Global Climate Rules Keep Advancing, Oxford Monitor Finds
Of 806 tracked climate policies, 718 stayed unchanged and only 11 were repealed; gains in Asia, Africa and Latin America more than offset Western reversals, Oxford finds.
By Priya Raman4 min read736 words
In brief
- Of 806 tracked climate policies, 718 were unchanged, 45 delayed, 32 weakened and 11 repealed; the U.S. accounted for 8 repeals.
- The monitor covers 39 countries representing more than 85% of global greenhouse gas emissions and GDP.
- 80 law firms work pro bono to track climate regulation for the open-access monitor.
- Buildings account for 37% of global carbon emissions; aviation for more than 3%.
- At COP31, the U.N. Taskforce on Net Zero Policy published 'Policy Matters,' drawing on the monitor's data.
Of 806 climate policies tracked across 39 countries, 718 remained unchanged over the past year while only 11 were repealed — and eight of those repeals came from a single government, the United States. Those numbers, released by the Oxford Climate Policy Monitor, form the backbone of a finding that cuts against the prevailing mood of climate retreat: global climate policy is still advancing.
The monitor, led by the Blavatnik School of Government and the Oxford Sustainable Law Programme, covers countries representing more than 85% of global greenhouse gas emissions and GDP. Beyond the unchanged measures, researchers counted 45 delayed policies and 32 weakened ones. Most rules, in short, held firm.
A data exercise of this scale has a quiet architecture. It draws on a global network of 80 leading law firms working pro bono — unpaid, in the public interest — to track climate-related regulation country by country. Their filings feed an open-access resource used by policymakers, researchers and businesses to see how governments translate net-zero pledges (the commitment to balance emitted and removed greenhouse gases) into actual law.
Where is progress coming from?
Progress in Asia, Africa and Latin America now more than offsets the weakening or reversal of climate policies in parts of Europe and North America, the analysis finds.
"Overall climate policy continues to advance across the G20, with retrenchment or dilution in some regions, like North America, more than offset by advancement in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Corporate and financial policy frameworks have continued to expand, both in the number of measures adopted and their overall ambition," said Thomas Hale, professor in global public policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and co-director of the Oxford Climate Policy Hub.
The longer-term trajectory shows climate policy becoming:
- More ambitious — targeting deeper and faster emissions reductions
- More comprehensive — covering a greater proportion of economic activity
- More real — with growing evidence of actual implementation
One weakness stands out. Stringency — the extent to which policies are mandatory and enforced — has grown more slowly than ambition or coverage.
"The long view of climate policy is that it is becoming more ambitious; more comprehensive; and more real, with growing evidence of implementation. However, the stringency of climate policies — the extent to which they are mandatory and enforced — has seen slower growth," said Dr. Emma Lecavalier, postdoctoral research fellow at the Oxford Climate Policy Hub.
What is new in this year's edition?
The expanded analysis covers nine policy areas, including corporate climate disclosures, transition planning, methane emissions, carbon credits and financial regulation. For the first time, the monitor also examines policies covering buildings, aviation and international trade in clean technologies.
The new sectors matter. Buildings account for 37% of global carbon emissions; aviation accounts for more than 3%. The trade analysis, in turn, examines policies affecting electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels and wind turbines — the hardware of the transition — as governments weigh climate action against economic competitiveness and energy security. The researchers also published accompanying policy briefs on carbon credits and clean-technology trade.
How does this reach the world stage?
The data has already crossed into diplomacy. At COP31, the U.N.'s Taskforce on Net Zero Policy published its report, "Policy Matters: Charting a Path to Net Zero," drawing directly on the monitor's findings. The task force was established at COP28 in 2023 to strengthen the policy frameworks supporting net-zero commitments.
"At COP31, geopolitical divisions risk dominating the headlines. But climate progress also depends on decisions made far from the negotiating table: the laws that shape investment, energy systems, and corporate behavior. Our remarkable pro bono network of 80 leading law firms helps bring this less visible story into focus, revealing where governments continue to strengthen the legal foundations for the transition, and where important gaps remain," said Dr. Thom Wetzer, associate professor of law and finance and co-director of the Oxford Climate Policy Hub.
The findings carry a caveat worth holding onto. A count of laws on the books measures intent and design, not outcomes; slower growth in enforcement, the researchers themselves note, remains the gap between commitment and delivery. Hale put the priority plainly: as the world seeks to limit the scale and duration of the 1.5°C overshoot, governments must undergird their targets with ambitious policies that are actually implemented on the ground.
The laws, not the headlines, are where the transition is being built.
via phys.org/rss-feed/ (Source)
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Senior reporter covering people, launches and day-to-day practice in general science news at SciBeat.
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