Integrate mission governance into climate policy, says OECD
Governments should integrate mission governance into climate mitigation efforts to better drive progress towards green goals, the OECD has said.
In its report – ‘Harnessing mission governance to achieve national climate targets’ – published last week, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development recommended that governments leverage mission governance principles to meet their Nationally-Determined Contributions (NDC) under the Paris Agreement.
It noted that most countries are currently falling short of their climate commitments.
Global efforts to mitigate climate change “rely on the realisation of bold, ambitious, time bound and cross-sectoral national emissions targets”, the OECD said, adding that a traditional siloed governance approach is “ill-suited to tackling this complex task”.
It said missions – which are clearly defined overarching policy objectives aimed at tackling a societal challenge within a specified timeframe and have a clear mission statement and underlining targets – could help ensure that a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach is adopted that is “appropriate to the scale of the challenge”.
Read more: The missing link: exploring the potential of national climate institutions
Operationalising national climate targets
The report analyses recent assessments from 15 countries’ climate councils against a set of mission governance principles: structure, strategic orientation, co-ordination, execution, and resources.
The countries assessed include Australia, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK.
Mission-driven innovation in government is intended as a break from a conventional focus, instead centring on problem-specific complex challenges, with collaboration a priority.
Read more: ‘It’s a break from the norm’: how moonshot approaches can drive government innovation
Governments including the UK have worked to implement mission-based approaches to policy delivery, but the OECD review found that where missions are in place, they are rarely used to achieve overarching climate goals, and are instead “constrained to narrower domains” such as within science, technology and innovation policy. As such, they are “disconnected from the wider climate efforts and lack the necessary reach, legitimacy or influence for the needed transformational impact”.
To remedy this situation and bridge the gap between missions and national climate targets, the OECD proposes a “multi-level mission-oriented approach”. This would address “both the overarching mission inherent to the NDC, as well as efforts to meet the more narrowly defined sub-targets that typically underpin them”.
Read more: UN hails leap forward in global climate action transparency
‘Not just a challenge, but an opportunity’
The report said a successful missions approach should improve horizontal and vertical co-ordination, aligning plans and resources more effectively across government levels and agencies; integrate climate considerations into core government processes such as budgeting and procurement; and cultivate societal engagement and enduring political support leading to “more citizen participation and consistent policies resistant to short-term fluctuations”.
Developing necessary capabilities throughout the mission lifecycle would also mean that “critical capacity gaps in climate action” are addressed, while the promotion of continuous adaptation and learning could “enhance the agility and effectiveness” of climate strategies.
It also said that the mission approach’s emphasis on encouraging private sector investment “could help multiply the effect of public funding in climate action”.
It is recognised in the OECD Action Plan on Governing Green – endorsed by member countries in 2022 – that “innovative approaches to governance are needed that embrace complexity, help overcome administrative segmentation, and mobilise societal actors”.
Climate change “presents not just a challenge but an opportunity to refine and improve our governance systems over time,” the OECD said.
Read more: World breaches 1.5C warming limit as climate deadline looms for governments
About Mia Hunt
Mia is a journalist and editor with a background in covering commercial property, having been market reports and supplements editor at trade title Property Week and deputy editor of Shopping Centre magazine, now known as Retail Destination. She has also undertaken freelance work for several publications including the preview magazine of international trade show, MAPIC, and TES Global (formerly the Times Educational Supplement) and has produced a white paper on energy efficiency in business for E.ON. Between 2014 and 2016, she was a member of the Revo Customer Experience Committee and an ACE Awards judge. Mia graduated from Kingston University with a first-class degree in journalism and was part of the team that produced The River newspaper, which won Publication of the Year at the Guardian Student Media Awards in 2010.
Related Posts
