PUBLIC SECTOR

As the largest economic sector of most countries, the public sector can help solve climate change by implementing policies like setting emission targets, enacting carbon pricing, and providing incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency. The public sector’s role in the climate crisis also includes investing in sustainable public transportation, funding research and development for clean technologies, and promoting public education and international cooperation. All sectors will need substantial transformation to tackle climate change, but since market forces alone won’t solve the problem, governments must lead with long-term commitments. 

POLICY AND REGULATION

• Set emission reduction targets: Establish clear goals for industries, infrastructure, transportation and energy sectors to cut greenhouse gas emissions and back them up with policies.
• Implement carbon pricing: Use taxes or cap-and-trade systems to make it more expensive to emit carbon, encouraging businesses to reduce their emissions. The World Bank Group’s Carbon Pricing dashboard includes maps of carbon pricing instruments, and the state of carbon credit markets and compliance mechanisms around the world. 
• Enforce efficiency standards: Create and enforce standards for buildings, appliances, and industrial processes to improve energy efficiency. 
• Regulate pollutants: Work to reduce short-lived climate pollutants, such as methane and black carbon. 

INCENTIVES AND INVESTMENT

• Promote renewable energy: Provide subsidies, tax credits and other incentives for renewable energy projects like solar and wind power. To reach net zero emissions by 2050, annual clean energy investment globally will need to triple by 2030. 
• Support sustainable technology: Fund and support research and development for clean energy technologies to accelerate their commercialization. Major innovation in new technology must occur in a net-zero pathway. Especially important will be innovations in battery storage, hydrogen fuels, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage. 
• Invest in public infrastructure: Build green infrastructure and invest in public EV transportation to provide low-emission alternatives to private vehicles. 
• Offer rebates: Provide financial assistance for assets like electric landscaping equipment, electric vehicle charging stations or buying electric vehicles. For example, the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program provides funding to states to build a consistent, accessible and reliable network of electric vehicle chargers nationwide -- at least through 2026.

OPERATIONS AND OUTREACH

• Lead by example: Decarbonize government operations, buildings, and travel through green procurement policies and strategic approaches. New York City’s GreenNY purchasing program sets procurement standards for state agencies, with approved specifications for products that minimize the risk of pollution, provide environmental benefits, and maximize recycled content.  
• Support sustainable agriculture: Assist small agricultural producers who use sustainable practices and promote land restoration. 
• Educate the public: Inform and educate the public on climate change and the benefits of sustainable choices. Around 55% of cumulative emissions reductions in the IEA’s pathway to net-zero will come from consumer choices including purchasing electric vehicles, installing heat pumps and retrofitting houses for energy efficiency, while an additional 4% reductions are from behavioral changes, like choosing to walk, cycle, or take public transport.  NOAA’s Toolbox for Teaching Climate & Energy provides free resources for introducing climate change in K-12 classrooms. NYC public schools hold Climate Action Days for highlighting sustainability practices. 
• Coordinate internationally: Work with other governments to develop coordinated global responses to climate change. With the world’s richest countries contributing the most to climate change, international commitments must be grounded in climate justice, undermining the colonial extractive relations contributing to the climate crisis, and must ensure that developing countries have financial and technology to reach net-zero. 
• Transparency and accountability: The public sector lags behind the private sector in terms of sustainability reporting. More than half of public sector organizations globally do not report on their climate impact. The World Resources Institute’s report on The Greenhouse Gas Protocol for the U.S. Public Sector provides guidance on how to re-interpret the widely accepted GHG Protocol Corporate Standard for public sector reporting. One standard is Local Government Operations Protocol, developed by the California Air Resources Board, the California Climate Action Registry, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, and the Climate Registry.