What policies are needed to make change happen?

Based on the insights from REINVENT’s work, we have developed two policy briefs. Focused on coordinating governance activities and on assessing low-carbon transitions, we hope they will inform and inspire policy-makers and other governance actors.

 
99% of plastic feedstock today is fossil-based, creating a lock-in of plastic production with fossil fuels and the petrochemical industry.
 

Policy brief 1. Coordinating governance activities for industry decarbonisation

  • Governance activities centred on exchange and collaboration are important to move industry decarbonisation forward.

  • Mutual trust is crucial to cross-actor governance activities – the right balance between confidentiality and transparency must be found when creating exchange formats.

  • Many actors lack the resources necessary to organise or partake in exchange and collaboration processes. Taking their needs into consideration when designing exchange formats is crucial.

  • Intermediaries functioning as a platform for exchange seem to be particularly well suited to carry out multi-stakeholder collaboration and should be strengthened. 

  • Civil society must be truly involved in exchange processes, not just as a box-ticking exercise but early in the process and in a way that is representative of different interests.

  • The benefits and drawbacks of technology openness need to be re-evaluated regularly and on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes the promotion of a specific technology may be necessary in order to move decarbonisation along.

 
“Zero waste” concepts can help us reduce use of plastic and bring new social practices. Photo taken at Färm, Brussels, a package-free display at an organic store that also sells a wide variety of packaged goods.
 

Policy brief 2. Assessing low-carbon transitions

  • New approaches are needed for assessing and evaluating low carbon transitions and transition policy. This requires an understanding of broader socio-technical change and ex-ante analyses that stretch over longer time periods than is normally the case in policy evaluation.

  • It is important that the assessments not only study what has already happened or what can happen in the near-term, e.g. in terms of emission reductions or technology diffusion. They should also analyse to what degree innovations and socio-technical systems develop in ways that makes society equipped and prepared for more long-term challenges. With too much focus on near-term and low-cost options we may create new lock-ins and risk lack of attention to solutions that are needed in the long-term.

  • Scenarios and analyses of possible decarbonisation pathways are important for exploring future challenges and options. Society will develop and change in various ways in parallel to, and with implications for the viability of, low carbon transitions. Future decarbonisation pathways must be analysed against, adapted to and co-evolved with a changing context.

  • Transitions must be (i) monitored and (ii) policies evaluated, based on (iii) continuous knowledge and capacity building. These are three key pillars from which to develop policy relevant insights. These can build on contributions from a range of actors (e.g. academia, civil society, and business) for different and critical perspectives. The potential scope and ambition of assessments will depend on the amount of allocated resources.