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Green budgeting involves reviewing government budgets to identify how all aspects of public expenditure affect environmental policy aims, such as sustainable land use, biodiversity protection, and climate goals. Green budgeting leads to more coherent policy-making by analyzing the ways in which all elements of a government budget help or hinder the achievement of climate and environmental objectives. It can also make public expenditures more accountable to public interests by enhancing the transparency between the government and civil society. An increase in the number of countries adopting green budgeting will indicate that more governments are on track to implement policies that promote positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes.  
As of June 2020, 14 of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) 38 member countries had adopted some form of green budgeting – amounting to 7% of countries globally. At least five additional countries – Chile, Greece, Latvia, Poland and Slovenia – currently have plans to adopt green budgeting.  

Green budgeting involves reviewing government budgets to identify how all aspects of public expenditure affect environmental policy aims, such as sustainable land use, biodiversity protection, and climate goals. Green budgeting leads to more coherent policy-making by analyzing the ways in which all elements of a government budget help or hinder the achievement of climate and environmental objectives. It can also make public expenditures more accountable to public interests by enhancing the transparency between the government and civil society. An increase in the number of countries adopting green budgeting will indicate that more governments are on track to implement policies that promote positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes.  
As of June 2020, 14 of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) 38 member countries had adopted some form of green budgeting – amounting to 7% of countries globally. At least five additional countries – Chile, Greece, Latvia, Poland and Slovenia – currently have plans to adopt green budgeting.  

A sustainable or green taxonomy is a classification system that provides a common language and clear definition for what constitutes sustainable economic activities and assets, helping to facilitate alignment of financial flows with environmental and climate goals. Taxonomies provide businesses and investors with appropriate definitions for economic activities that are considered environmentally sustainable and help prevent greenwashing – misleading claims about environmental performance. The use of taxonomy-based approaches for scaling sustainable finance has gained traction and since 2019, global taxonomy development has reached notable milestones in various countries. 
As increasing amounts of capital are mobilized around sustainable themes, it is critical that commensurate frameworks are developed to ensure that they deliver their intended impact. By applying a regulatory framework that establishes structure and clarity on what is considered environmentally friendly, a sustainable taxonomy provides countries with assurance that financing and investments in the low-carbon economy are being channeled to truly sustainable activities. As of April 2022, 36 countries have developed green taxonomies, including China, South Korea, and countries of the European Union. An additional 12 countries have taxonomies under development. Between those developed and in development, 24% of countries globally are covered by a sustainable or green taxonomy. 

A sustainable or green taxonomy is a classification system that provides a common language and clear definition for what constitutes sustainable economic activities and assets, helping to facilitate alignment of financial flows with environmental and climate goals. Taxonomies provide businesses and investors with appropriate definitions for economic activities that are considered environmentally sustainable and help prevent greenwashing – misleading claims about environmental performance. The use of taxonomy-based approaches for scaling sustainable finance has gained traction and since 2019, global taxonomy development has reached notable milestones in various countries. 
As increasing amounts of capital are mobilized around sustainable themes, it is critical that commensurate frameworks are developed to ensure that they deliver their intended impact. By applying a regulatory framework that establishes structure and clarity on what is considered environmentally friendly, a sustainable taxonomy provides countries with assurance that financing and investments in the low-carbon economy are being channeled to truly sustainable activities. As of April 2022, 36 countries have developed green taxonomies, including China, South Korea, and countries of the European Union. An additional 12 countries have taxonomies under development. Between those developed and in development, 24% of countries globally are covered by a sustainable or green taxonomy. 

As of 2020, 156 of 193 (80%) countries, had recognized the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment through treaties, constitutions, and laws representing one type of policy to accelerate the transition to an economy that is resilient and advances forest, sustainable land use, biodiversity, and climate goals. The right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is an umbrella right that includes substantive rights to clean air, water, a safe and stable climate, sanitation, healthy and sanitary food, non-toxic environments, and healthy biodiversity and ecosystems. It also includes the procedural rights of access to information, public participation, and access to justice. In 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that recognized this human right and called on states to implement multilateral environmental agreements and take other steps, such as policy, capacity building, cooperation, and scaling of good practices, to implement it fully. Legal recognition is not the same as implementation, but it is an important first step. There is also a growing trend of climate litigation being brought on human rights grounds. Notably in 2023, a court in the US state of Montana ruled in favor of 16 youth plaintiffs that the state’s environmental law prohibiting the consideration of greenhouse gases in environmental reviews was a violation of the plaintiffs’ constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.

As of 2020, 156 of 193 (80%) countries, had recognized the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment through treaties, constitutions, and laws representing one type of policy to accelerate the transition to an economy that is resilient and advances forest, sustainable land use, biodiversity, and climate goals. The right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is an umbrella right that includes substantive rights to clean air, water, a safe and stable climate, sanitation, healthy and sanitary food, non-toxic environments, and healthy biodiversity and ecosystems. It also includes the procedural rights of access to information, public participation, and access to justice. In 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that recognized this human right and called on states to implement multilateral environmental agreements and take other steps, such as policy, capacity building, cooperation, and scaling of good practices, to implement it fully. Legal recognition is not the same as implementation, but it is an important first step. There is also a growing trend of climate litigation being brought on human rights grounds. Notably in 2023, a court in the US state of Montana ruled in favor of 16 youth plaintiffs that the state’s environmental law prohibiting the consideration of greenhouse gases in environmental reviews was a violation of the plaintiffs’ constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.

Robust governance systems, including the coordination capacity of government authorities, are needed to accelerate the transition to an economy that is resilient and advances forest, sustainable land use, biodiversity, and climate goals. In 2019, the coordination capacity of government authorities was rated adequate to good for just 31 out of 134 countries. This global index from the Berggruen Index (using data from Varieties of Democracy) includes data from 134 countries and is composed of indicators which assess whether public administrations are rule-based and operate under a culture of ethics and integrity. This includes whether they are adequately resourced, hire based on merit, and demonstrate behavior that is rigorous and impartial. This includes whether they exhibit cronyism or clientelist behavior that prioritizes particular interest groups over the broader public. Strong administrative capacity enables effective coordination which is essential for delivering the types of ambitious policies and actions that can spur systems change.  

Robust governance systems, including the coordination capacity of government authorities, are needed to accelerate the transition to an economy that is resilient and advances forest, sustainable land use, biodiversity, and climate goals. In 2019, the coordination capacity of government authorities was rated adequate to good for just 31 out of 134 countries. This global index from the Berggruen Index (using data from Varieties of Democracy) includes data from 134 countries and is composed of indicators which assess whether public administrations are rule-based and operate under a culture of ethics and integrity. This includes whether they are adequately resourced, hire based on merit, and demonstrate behavior that is rigorous and impartial. This includes whether they exhibit cronyism or clientelist behavior that prioritizes particular interest groups over the broader public. Strong administrative capacity enables effective coordination which is essential for delivering the types of ambitious policies and actions that can spur systems change.