Transition Towards Climate-Resilient Low-Carbon and Net-Zero Future Pathways: Investigating the Influence of Post-Paris Agreement and G-7 Climate Policies on Climate Actions in G-20 Using Quasi-Natural Experiments

This study is driven by the pressing need to assess how the international Paris Agreement of 2015, as a policy shock, impacts climate actions in G-20 countries, which account for most of the world's emissions. Achieving SDG-13 (Climate Actions) requires understanding the function of the G-7 policy. In this context, using a quasi-natural experiment design with Multi-year Difference-in-Differences (DID), fixed-effect DID, and propensity score matching (PSM-DID), this study examines how the Paris Agreement and G-7 climate policies affected the climate actions (SDG-13) of the G-20 countries from 2002 to 2021. The findings demonstrate that the Paris Agreement of 2015 substantially benefits climate action, with treatment effects ranging from 0.278 to 0.367, at a significance level of 1%. The findings show that covariant environmental taxes help to advance the climate efforts, whereas coal rents and the use of fossil fuels impede them. International cooperation (SDG-17) further improves outcomes. Climate change policies adopted by the G-7 have a significant long-term influence on other G-20 member nations. But their efficacy has slightly changed over the time. This study focuses on providing necessary tools for the global transition towards climate-resilient low-carbon and net-zero future pathways.