CLIMATE GOVERNANCE PAPERS Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action Paul Smoke and Mitchell Cook © 2022 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000; Internet: www.worldbank.org Some rights reserved. This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. 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Examples of components can include, but are not limited to, tables, figures, or images. All queries on rights and licenses should be addressed to World Bank Publications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; e-mail: pubrights@worldbank.org. Graphic Designer: Maria Lopez / lopez.ten@gmail.com Contents List of Tables iv iv List of Boxes v Acknowledgements 1. Introduction 1 2. Some Fundamentals on Climate Change Issues and Actions 4 2.1 Major Climate Change Action Areas 4 2.2 Measures to Address Climate Change 6 3. Some Fundamentals on Decentralization and Intergovernmental Systems 9 3.1 The Decentralization and Intergovernmental System Landscape 9 3.2 The Broader Developmental Role of Subnational Governments 11 4. The Intersection of Decentralization and Climate Action 13 4.1 The Role of Subnational Governments in Addressing Climate Change 13 4.2 The Urban Perspective and a Note on Rural Climate Action 15 4.3 Challenges in Subnational Climate Action and Implications for Strategy 16 5. Subnational Administrative Functions that Support Climate Action 18 5.1 Regulatory Functions 20 5.2 Operational Functions 24 5.3 Information and Analytics Functions 29 5.4 Collaborative Governance Functions 31 6. Selected Cases of Administrative Decentralization for Climate Change Action 35 6.1 Indonesia – Slowing Carbon Emissions/Peatland Destruction Land Use Conversion 36 6.2 Argentina – Promoting Solar Water Heaters in Municipal Building Regulations 38 6.3 China – Supporting New Energy Vehicles for Urban Logistics 39 6.4 Bangladesh – Improving Collaboration for Disaster Risk Reduction and Response 41 6.5 Kenya – Decentralizing Climate Information Services for Locally Led Adaptation 42 6.6 Selected Observations on the Cases 44 7. Looking Forward: Designing and Implementing Administrative Reforms for More Effective Subnational Government Engagement in Climate Change 45 7.1 Framing Assessment of Administrative Decentralization for Climate Change Action 46 7.2 Diagnosing Needs and Assessing Options for Subnational Administrative Action 47 7.3 Concluding Observations 51 References 53 Tables Table 2.1. Selected Decarbonization and GHG Mitigation Measures 6 Table 2.2. Selected Adaptation Measures 7 Table 3.1. The Decentralization and Intergovernmental Institutional Landscape 10 Table 5.1. Select Key Issues Across Subnational Administrative Functions 19 Table 5.2. Building Energy Efficiency Regulations in Three 20 Subnational Jurisdictions Table 5.3. Durban (South Africa) Climate Action Plan Targets 24 Table 7.1. Assessing Subnational Administrative Functions to Support Climate Action 49 Boxes Box 5.1. Introducing Solar Water Heaters into Municipal Building Regulations in Rosario 21 Box 5.2. New Energy Vehicles for Net Zero Urban Logistics in China 27 Box 5.3. Slowing Carbon Emissions from Peatland Destruction and Land Use Conversion in Indonesia 27 Box 5.4. Getting Started with Emissions Data: Where Can Subnational Governments Focus First? 30 Box 5.5. Decentralizing Climate Information Services in Kenya 30 Box 5.6. Improving Local Coordination and Collaboration for Disaster Risk Reduction in Bangladesh 34 Acknowledgements We are grateful to Nicolas Garcia for research assistance; Adrian Fozzard, Nicholas Menzies, and Serdar Yilmaz for multiple discussions and rounds of comments; Ezgi Carpolat, Eric Chu, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, and James Newman for their inputs on earlier drafts; and Stephane Hallegatte, Sohaib Athar, Jurgen Blum, and Jesse Ribot for peer reviewing the paper. This paper was prepared under the World Bank Mainstreaming Climate Change in Governance Program with support from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. Editing by Patricia Carley and design by Maria Lopez. Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action vi 01 Introduction International and domestic efforts to respond to the severe global challenge of climate change are on the rise and evolving. Signatory countries committed in the 2015 Paris Agreement to keep global temperature change under 2.0°C above pre-industrial levels while also pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C and to more aggressively adapt to climate change impacts. Formulating effective responses depends on a diverse array of scientific and technical expertise, which, although foundational, in turn depends on the governance of climate change action. In other words, effective response demands action by competent governments able not only to work across country boundaries and at the national level, but also to collaborate with various partners and at different scales within domestic intergovernmental systems. Despite the importance of action from multiple levels of government, public sector reforms to address climate change and to promote decentralization and/ or intergovernmental relations tend to be designed and managed separately. There are efforts to improve specialized government systems and capacity to manage low-carbon and environmental transitions in developing countries, but these are not typically in tandem with broader reforms that shape the roles, functions, and resources of subnational governments (Hickman et. al. 2017; Puppim de Oliveira 2019). Similarly, there is limited indication that broader decentralization and intergovernmental reform efforts have been particularly coordinated to include domestic and international climate change initiatives. Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 1 Intergovernmental relations have administrative, of a strong theoretical basis and robust empirical fiscal, and political dimensions. This paper focuses evidence. There are established principles for fiscal on climate action at the subnational government decentralization (fiscal federalism) and empirical work level through administrative decentralization and in that area, but there is no comparable unified theory intergovernmental collaboration. The objective was to of administrative decentralization. This reflects the much review and synthesize the thinking and lessons drawn broader array of diverse functions that are covered from literature on decentralization, climate change, and under its rubric. Moreover, the empirical evidence disaster management, among other related topics, to that does exist is relatively fragmented across distinct identify ways that administrative functions can support administrative functions and research fields and is often subnational climate action. Based on that review, the based on specific cases and/or largely anecdotal. conclusions included here offer guidance on how to think about advancing this agenda. Given the breadth of Further challenges are posed by the very nature the topic of administrative decentralization, the paper is of climate change. Climate risks are characterized illustrative rather than comprehensive. A companion paper by considerable uncertainty regarding their potential (Martinez-Vazquez 2021) covers fiscal decentralization severity and the timing of their impacts. In addition, and climate change, examining subnational expenditure there are different priorities and relationships between and revenue authority and action. Both administrative and local issues and those that are broader or even global fiscal functions are, of course, essential to climate action in scope, complicating decisions about the specific roles and must be considered together, along with political and related actions of the various actors. Location- considerations, in designing policies and support. specific climate stressors and vulnerabilities also influence particular climate action needs. The Paris Agreement acknowledges the climate change-decentralization connection, noting a need The bottom line is that the appropriate mix of for the “engagement of all levels of government and subnational climate actions will vary because various actors.” Central government parties to the climate change needs and feasible responses, as agreement submit non-binding climate action plans in well as intergovernmental structures and the nature/ the form of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). degree of decentralization, differ across countries. Subnational government roles, however, were addressed Thus, the relative roles of different government levels only superficially in the first round of NDCs. An analysis and other actors—and the relationships among them— of forest sector climate actions in 60 country NDCs, are necessarily quite diverse. Even within countries, for example, found that 18 simply mention subnational asymmetric treatment of subnational actors may be governments, and another 21 indicate a subnational justified by varied conditions, needs, and capacities. role in implementation, capacity-building/knowledge These differences must be considered in assessing exchange, or decision making, but mostly with limited an appropriate role for subnational governments in detail (Sarmiento Barletti, Larson, and Cisneros 2018). administrative decentralization reforms that support climate action and ensure clear lines of accountability . Since the Paris Agreement, transnational, multi- stakeholder initiatives for climate action have The rest of the paper is organized as follows. emerged. Transnational actors increasingly try to influence subnational governments to take climate action • Sections 2 and 3, respectively, provide concise at different scales across multiple sectors. A review of summaries of basic climate change issues nine reporting platforms, for example, found that 823 and policies and the principles and practices cities and 101 regions across the globe, with a combined of decentralization and intergovernmental population of 846 million, have made net zero emission relations. These basics may be unnecessary for pledges (Data-Driven EnviroLab and New Climate some readers, but others may find it useful to review Institute 2020). The impact of this activity on government this material before proceeding to the treatment of restructuring and recalibrating, however, mostly remains how administrative decentralization can support a “black box” (Hickmann et al. 2017). action on climate change. A significant factor hindering progress in defining • Section 4 covers the intersection of climate specificity on the administrative roles of subnational change action and decentralization. It briefly governments in the climate change arena is the lack outlines the actual and potential roles of subnational Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 2 governments in responding to priority climate change situations and the types of interactions among issues in diverse intergovernmental systems, as them. Each case focuses on a different challenge well as some of the associated prospects for and (in some cases more than one), collectively covering constraints on developing better linkages between a mix of administrative functions in the context of subnational governments and climate change action. different intergovernmental systems. • Section 5 reviews administrative decentralization • Section 7 concludes with some synthetic for climate change action, the focus of this observations and offers general guidance on paper. It outlines four categories of administrative assessing the prospects for enhancing and functions: regulatory, operational, information and supporting subnational administrative action on analytics, and collaborative governance. The section climate change. Variations in climate issues and selectively considers specific functions within these the contexts in which they must be addressed, as broader categories, the opportunities and challenges well as the breadth of possible solutions, preclude they present, and some of the connections the development of a universal comprehensive among them. framework to prescribe specific policy measures. Instead, the section outlines basic considerations • Section 6 presents illustrative cases drawn from to support a more systematic assessment of what secondary materials to illustrate how selected might be done in a particular case. administrative functions are used in specific Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 3 02 Some Fundamentals on This section summarizes some basics on climate change issues and remedial policies. It is not specific to Climate Change Issues subnational governments but simply provides a mapping of some climate change essentials used later in the and Actions paper in considering how administrative decentralization can support climate change action. 2.1 Major Climate Change Action Areas Climate change response requires action on two fronts: decarbonization and adaptation. Decarbonization is the process of reducing net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to zero. It is increasingly used in place of mitigation, the term that appears in the Paris Agreement and many national climate change strategies, because it better captures the key policy objective. Mitigation, which is used here only when the literature cited specifically uses it, entails incremental reductions in GHG emissions. Decarbonization requires more fundamental structural changes in economic activity along four fronts: decarbonization of energy sources; electrification; increased energy efficiency; and preservation and increased use of natural carbon sinks for carbon dioxide removal. Adaptation refers to adjustments in ecological or socioeconomic systems in response to actual or expected climate change and its effects on human and natural systems, including steps to exploit benefits (IPCC 2018). Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 4 Decarbonization and adaptation are two umbrella • Managing Physical Risks from Extreme Climate- objectives that cover other challenges addressed Related Hazards. Physical disaster risk is a product through climate policy. Four key challenges include: of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability in a specific reducing or avoiding GHG emissions, decarbonizing local time and place. Certain locations are inherently risky, economies, managing physical risk from extreme climate for example, dense neighborhoods with housing and events, and adapting to the slow-onset environmental commercial activities on steep slopes. Physical risks impacts of climate change. It must be recognized, arise from a mix of factors, such as population growth, however, that these challenges are related and have land use and economic development patterns, and some common policy solutions. GHG accumulation in the atmosphere, increasing the variability and intensity of extreme weather • Reducing or Avoiding Greenhouse Gas events. These changes increase extreme flooding, Emissions. Growth in carbon dioxide emissions wind intensities in tropical storms, and wildfires from fossil fuels and other heat-trapping gases from longer and hotter droughts that cause physical like methane and nitrous oxide are driving global damage (Mirza 2003; Stott 2016). The variability and warming, and the last 10 years were the hottest on intensity of climate hazards and physical destruction record.1 Globally, total GHG emissions increased 1.5 and monetary losses will rise under a 2.0°C mean percent per year from 2009 to 2018, reaching 2.0 global temperature increase compared to 1.5°C percent in 2018 (UNEP 2019). For consistency with (IPCC 2018). Recent modeling exercises indicate sustainable development pathways that stabilize that regions in some countries could experience warming levels at 2.0°C, GHG emissions must up to six climate hazards a year without aggressive fall 7.6 percent annually until 2030. Such drastic emission reductions (Mora et al. 2018). reductions remain far out of reach under the Paris Agreement’s initial national commitments, as the • Adapting to Slow Onset Environmental Change. current rate is projected to lead to a 3.2°C warming Slow onset environmental change requires urgent by the end of the century (UNEP 2020). reductions in the intensity of natural resource use and improvements in adaptive capacity to cope • Decarbonizing Local Economies. Accelerating the with threats to human prosperity and development. transition to net zero carbon emissions is needed These latter include water scarcity, desertification, to halt global warming, avoid the socioeconomic infectious diseases, and biodiversity decline. and environmental risks linked to fossil fuel–based Permanent changes in agricultural zones, extreme development, and create job opportunities in the 21st surface heat, and sea-level rise are three threats century energy transition (Bazaz et al. 2018). Low- from slow onset environmental change, each of carbon economies would rely on renewable power which could make some areas uninhabitable in the resources with very low fossil carbon in key sectors, next 30 years (Hassell et al. 2017; Kang and Eltahir for example, electricity, industry, buildings, and 2018). Certain types of slow onset change, such as transport (LEED and EC 2015). Transition to low, or ecosystem degradation and desertification, reduce “net zero,” carbon economies poses challenges that the productivity of land and ocean carbon sinks require active management, such as sequencing that sequester half of human-caused emissions. policy changes and investments backwards from Feedback effects between climate systems suggests mid-century net zero targets. As action grows more that slow onset environmental change is non- stringent over time, making regular progress against linear and unpredictable over different time scales targets has major consequences for the near-term (Friedlingstein et al. 2019). Crossing tipping points investment decisions needed to avoid lock-in to could enhance negative feedback effects that spiral carbon intensive infrastructure and associated beyond the coping capacity of governments, spilling financial risks from stranded assets. over subnational and national borders and causing widespread damages and losses. 1. See T. Frank, “The 2010s Were the Hottest Decade—the 2020s Will Top Them,” Scientific American, E&E News, January 16, 2020, https://www.scientificamerican. com/article/the-2010s-were-the-hottest-decade-the-2020s-will-top-them/. Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 5 2.2 Measures to Address technologies, such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, require previously unimaginable increases Climate Change in demand for land and water when deployed at levels capable of generating climate scale impacts (Rueda et al. 2021). The appropriate set of measures, in terms Emissions stabilization pathways consistent with a of feasibility or affordability, depends on country- and 2.0°C warming require limiting growth rates in final region-specific characteristics. energy demand, switching to renewable energy, reducing the carbon intensity of electricity and energy Responses to the extreme physical risks associated use in industrial sectors (i.e., decarbonization), and with climate change are commonly advanced through increasing the share of electricity in final energy use a range of disaster management policies and actions, (IPCC 2018). Although phasing out carbon dioxide in spanning various types of interventions. These both production and consumption is required urgently, include risk identification (carrying out risk assessments draw down of carbon emissions is expected to be more from project to regional scale); emergency preparedness rapid after 2030 under current national commitments. To and response (increasing local disaster response stabilize global warming below 2.0°C, deep reductions readiness, developing and operationalizing early warning in methane emissions are also required (Saunois et systems, building and maintaining resilient preparedness al. 2016). and response infrastructure such as shelters); risk reduction (developing and enforcing risk-informed land- Decarbonization and GHG mitigation measures use planning, constructing or retrofitting physical assets include a range of options in the major emitting to levels that withstand projected climate impacts), and sectors, including energy, industry, transport, financial protection (creating and managing disaster buildings, and agriculture, forestry, and other land contingency funds and insurance arrangements). use. Table 2.1 lists the common measures outlined by Specific actions depend on climate hazard and asset the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). and population exposure patterns. For instance, some The impacts of these measures across sectors are physical risks can be avoided through proactive land- interdependent, with changes in one requiring changes use plans and enforcement, such as using flood plain in others. For instance, reduced emissions in transport maps to guide land sales and development restrictions through mass transit electrification require energy in coastal areas. Ultimately, options for reducing physical sector changes (grid-scale renewables and energy risks should be consistent with the goal of limiting future storage). Models in which warming is stabilized at 1.5°C economic and other losses from extreme events. include the deployment of technologies to capture and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Some Table 2.1. Selected Decarbonization and GHG Mitigation Measures Sector Measures Energy • Renewable energy (wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, bioenergy) • Increase in electricity share of energy supply • Fossil carbon dioxide capture and storage (CSS) • Methane leakage prevention, capture, and storage Industry • Reduction in the demand for energy • CO2 and other GHG emissions intensity reductions • High-energy efficiency heating and steam generation (e.g., motors) • Reduction in use of industrial material/enhancement of product quality • Energy management systems in industrial facilities Buildings • Electrification of buildings • Building of distributed renewable energy systems • High efficiency air conditioning/switching of cooling gases • Building of envelope improvements to reduce cooling/heating demand • High efficiency lighting, appliances, and water heating equipment Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 6 Sector Measures Transport • Reductions in travel demand • Fuel carbon intensity for heavy duty trucks and urban logistics vehicles • Electrification of private vehicles and mass transit • Shift from private passenger vehicles to public transit, biking, and walking • Compact urban forms Agriculture, Forestry, • Reduction in the demand for agricultural and forest products and Other Land Use • Reduction in the rates of deforestation • Afforestation and reforestation (e.g., peatland restoration) • Changes in livestock feed composition to reduce methane emissions • Changes in fertilizer efficiency to reduce nitrous oxide Source: IPCC (2014 & 2018). The link between extreme physical risks and social resilience (Hallegatte et al. 2017; Hallegatte, Rentschler, vulnerability can be compounding, adding to the and Rozenberg 2019). Medium- and long-term risk range of measures needed to adapt to a higher variability integration entails cross-sectoral and transboundary and intensity of weather events. For instance, in coastal land-use planning. Given the uncertainty associated with areas with concentrated populations and physical assets, projections of climate impacts downscaled to local areas, extreme risk events can concurrently involve damaging governments should use inclusive and data-driven winds, storm surges, flooding, heat, and vector-borne planning to pinpoint vulnerabilities in specific population diseases. These familiar climate-related hazards can groups or asset classes and prioritize remedies even cascade in unpredictable ways through service delivery in the absence of climate change (Hallegatte 2009). systems to magnify damages and losses to vulnerable Adapting social protection systems includes direct public population groups and communities, as when a major investment to reduce population vulnerability (e.g., disaster event overwhelms water treatment and waste social programs, disaster risk financing). Integrating management systems and leads to infectious disease climate resilience into infrastructure investment entails outbreaks and epidemics (Watson, Gayer, and Connolly increasing the focus of public investment planning 2007; Cook 2021). to reduce exposure of populations and infrastructure vulnerability to climate hazards while simultaneously Adaptation responses are diverse and can include, improving infrastructure design and materials consistent for example, integrating medium- and long-term climate with changing environmental conditions. Table 2.2 lists risks into planning, adapting social protection, and some common adaptation measures as outlined by the increasing public and private infrastructure investment Global Commission on Adaptation (GCA 2019). Table 2.2. Selected Adaptation Measures Sector Adaptation Measures Food Systems and • Digital farmer services, weather and seasonal forecasting services Livelihoods of Small- • Farm diversification and increased market access Scale Producers • Bundled crop and/or livestock insurance Natural Environment • Restore wetlands to absorb and filter flood waters • Restore watercourses, expand greenspaces, introduce porous surfaces • Restore coastal wetlands, including enhanced engineered measures Water • Building/improving multipurpose reservoirs, creating interconnected regional water systems, and enhancing groundwater recharge • Exploring new water sources (wastewater reclamation, desalination plants Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 7 Sector Adaptation Measures • Increasing supply by fixing leaky water mains, reclaiming wastewater and stormwater, or desalinating seawater using renewable energy Cities and Urban • Increasing tree cover and green spaces to battle heat island effect Areas • Organizing community gardens to help increase water retention while encouraging community-building and local conservation • Greening rooftops to reduce summer heat, provide winter insulation, and reduce stormwater runoff • Increasing permeable surfaces and wetlands to increase natural infiltration of rainwater and reduce stormwater runoff Infrastructure • Less construction in high-risk areas • Added redundancy for key infrastructure links • Higher standards for critical infrastructure links (pavement designed to resist melting temperatures, roadway elevated to reduce flood risk, drainage designed for heavier rainfall) Source: GCA (2019). Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 8 03 Some Fundamentals on This section summarizes some basics of decentralization and intergovernmental relations. It Decentralization and is not specific to climate change but offers an overview of intergovernmental system diversity and certain Intergovernmental Systems features of decentralization used below in considering climate action. 3.1 The Decentralization and Intergovernmental System Landscape Decentralization of the public sector has been adopted or enhanced in many developing countries in recent decades. It is often motivated by politics, but the stated official purpose is usually some mix of enhancing public management, governance, and accountability; improving public service delivery; promoting economic development; increasing equity in service delivery and development outcomes; and promoting a more stable and peaceful state, among others. The goals and specific structure reflect the circumstances and needs of a particular country. Decentralization involves sharing public functions and resources among government levels.2 The concept is often simplistically framed, but in practice decentralization occurs in varied forms and contexts and can be complex.3 Using or improving intergovernmental systems—including to support climate action—requires documenting and understanding their current status and future potential. Decentralization must also be seen as an ongoing process, as its structure and operations evolve over time. Basic elements and other possible features 2. Overviews of decentralization from varied perspectives are provided, for example, in Bahl, Linn and Wetzel (2013); Faguet and Poschl (2015); Smoke (2015); Bahl and Bird (2018); Rodden and Wibbels (2019); and Ahmad (2020). 3. Intergovernmental system diversity is challenging to document systematically, but there are some broad global overviews, e.g., UCLG (2010); and OECD-UCLG (2016, 2019) and comparisons of selected regions or countries, such as World Bank (2005); Boex (2013); Smoke (2013, 2019); Ellis and Roberts (2016); Yoshino and Morgan (2017). Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 9 of the intergovernmental landscape that those working more effectively planned and implemented over larger in decentralized environments should be aware of are geographic areas. summarized in table 3.1. The specific assignment and sharing of public There may be varied relationships among levels functions and revenues among levels of government and actors in the intergovernmental system. In some and nongovernmental actors has significant cases, each government level has autonomy over certain implications for accountability. If one level of functions; in others, there is a hierarchy, such that a government has been assigned responsibility for a lower level needs higher-level approval for administrative function but does not have access to or control over or fiscal decisions. Particularly in federal systems, state/ the necessary resources, these entities cannot be truly regional/provincial governments often have more control accountable. Similarly, if multiple levels are supposed over local governments than the federal government. to share service delivery but the specific role of each is Collaborative mechanisms among levels and actors (both not clear, then holding specific actors accountable for governmental and nongovernmental) are commonly performance is difficult. A devolved level of subnational used to manage functions with shared responsibility. government has fundamentally different accountability These mechanisms are also used horizontally, such that relationships than one that is not, and special purpose neighboring subnational jurisdictions that are individually entities that deliver a particular service can be governed empowered work together on functions that can be in different ways. Table 3.1. The Decentralization and Intergovernmental Institutional Landscape Features Elements Comments Government Federal: central government Main significance is that in federal systems, Structure shares sovereignty with states/regions/ provinces tend to have strong intermediate tier authority over lower tiers Unitary: authority rests fully in the central government Intergovernmental Intermediate: state, region, Can be variation in relative size and Structure province empowerment; intermediate or lower tiers can have Local: cities, towns, counties, more powers; certain government types, e.g., cities, districts, etc.; may be subdivisions may also have greater authority under any Special: entities with specific functions that may cover multiple general-purpose governments Forms of Deconcentration: primarily upward Commonly some mix of these three forms in Decentralization accountability particular countries; variation can occur in multiple Delegation: delegated entity ways, including across levels of government or accountable to delegating entity across government functions Devolution: stronger accountability to elected subnational governments Dimensions of Administrative: managerial Some dimensions closely related to specific forms Decentralization functions, including financial, (e.g., political elections in devolved systems), but human resource the strength and mix of these dimensions can Fiscal: expenditure and revenue vary greatly in any decentralized system (including borrowing) functions Political: electoral and non- electoral accountability mechanisms Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 10 Features Elements Comments Vertical Independent: individual levels Degrees of independence and hierarchy can Intergovernmental have autonomy over specific vary considerably in any system and may differ Relations functions across functions; many types of collaborative Hierarchical: lower tiers must seek arrangements are used among government levels approval from higher tiers Collaborative: mechanisms for sharing functions and decision making Horizontal Mandatory: collaboration entities Collaboration mechanisms, e.g., metropolitan Intergovernmental for neighboring subnational development authorities, may be mandated Relations governments with compulsory and supported (incentivized) by the center participation or optional and funded by voluntary member Voluntary: decision to participate contributions is made by eligible subnational governments choosing to work together Partnerships/ Quasi-governmental: government Commonly some mix of these three forms in Nongovernmental entity with broader governance particular countries; variation can occur in multiple actors Private: contacting of private actors ways, including across levels of government or for minor or major public functions across government functions Other nongovernmental: partnership with community/civil society actors The diversity of systems in terms of organization and jurisdictions, but higher-level intervention is needed for operation has critical consequences for how reforms services that exhibit scale economies or externalities. to improve public functions, including in climate action, can or should be approached. What seem The underlying logic of fiscal decentralization is that like normatively desirable actions may not be realistic or subnational governments have certain locational sustainable, and if used they must be adapted to context. and governance advantages. They are expected It may be possible to modify intergovernmental structures to have greater knowledge of their jurisdictions and a and procedures that create severe challenges for the stronger accountability connection to local residents. effective performance of public functions, including those Local spending decisions should be more closely tied to relevant for climate action, but this is not always feasible. real resource costs, and there may be stronger incentives to innovate. Detailed coverage of this theory and its 3.2 The Broader Developmental Role application in practice is offered in the companion fiscal decentralization and climate change paper Martinez- of Subnational Governments Vazquez (2021). The subnational role in administrative functions, however, is not covered by a unified theoretical framework and depends considerably on the fiscal Mainstream public finance theory (fiscal federalism) structure (expenditure and revenue assignments). essentially frames decentralization as central government assignment of specific powers and Mainstream approaches that focus on assigning functions to subnational governments according to specific functions largely overlook the potential normative criteria. The theory prioritizes allocational of subnational governments to pursue integrated efficiency, such that lower levels of government sustainable development. This advantage is based provide public services for which demand varies across Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 11 on their stronger motivation to consider public needs mandate exists in some countries and can widen options and functions in their territories in a more holistic way for subnational governments to deal with territorial needs, than siloed national sectoral ministries. If public services including climate action. are interdependent—for example, schools and clinics need access to electricity, roads, water, and sanitation— There is, of course, a need to balance—even in subnational governments may be better placed than highly decentralized systems—legitimate national higher-level agencies to ensure that these services are mandates and standards with the potentially greater provided jointly, although they may need financial and subnational ability to deal with specific needs on technical support to do so. the ground.4 Preferred arrangements will partly depend on contextual factors, such as specific functions under Also less emphasized in mainstream decentralization consideration and the level of subnational government is the concept of a general mandate for subnational capacity, among others. This balance can change over governments to provide for the overall development time as conditions evolve and subnational governments and welfare of their territories and constituents prove their ability to act effectively. Whichever (CLGF 2013; Romeo 2013; Romeo and Smoke 2016; level of government has the lead role on functions EC 2016). General mandates imply a stronger, and within involving multiple actors or different functions that are legal constraints, more autonomous role for subnational interdependent, task-appropriate collaboration and governments to act beyond specific functions officially partnerships are always required. assigned to them in the national legal framework. Such a 4. This is covered in the synthetic literature cited in footnote 2 as well as various comparative studies, evaluations, and guidelines, including World Bank (2008); LDI (2013); USAID (2013); Rao, Scott, and Alam (2014); EC (2016); and World Bank (forthcoming). Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 12 04 The Intersection of How do the climate change issues and remedial actions outlined in section 2 play out in the Decentralization and landscape of decentralization and intergovernmental relations outlined in section 3? The answer, of Climate Action course, is in many ways. This section briefly considers how subnational climate change action is and could be situated in the intergovernmental system. The treatment here more broadly covers the potential subnational role in climate action, while section 5 offers more detail about decentralized administrative functions that are the focus of this paper. 4.1 The Role of Subnational Governments in Addressing Climate Change Neither climate change impacts nor remedies respect fixed jurisdictions. Some aspects of national climate policy in intergovernmental systems have been extensively examined, such as externalities associated with pollution and spillovers that cross boundaries. Emissions in one jurisdiction can move into another, and major risks stemming from climate change (storms, floods, drought, fires, agricultural zone change, forced migration) are transboundary. National commitments to reduce emissions imply asymmetric risks for jurisdictions dependent on fossil fuels, and some regions benefit disproportionately from renewable energy. These realities may imply a need for a strong central role, but national governments are not necessarily able to manage the varied issues, actors, and possible actions involved in local and regional climate response. Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 13 Subnational governments are motivated to address Although some climate action functions are climate change for different reasons. For many, more clearly defined and parameters for their climate action focuses on resilience for economic implementation prescribed in intergovernmental growth, industrialization, and resource security. Others frameworks, subnational governments may prioritize reducing climate risks, enhancing well-being undertake other appropriate actions as part of their and livelihoods, and dealing with previous investments general mandate where provided for in the national that exacerbate vulnerability (Chu 2016; Puppim legal framework. They could initiate or accelerate de Oliveira 2019). Subnational governments may actions to address gaps or ambiguities in the framework incorporate climate considerations into routine functions, and undertake experiments (Bulkeley 2019; Carmin, such as planning or information analytics, based on Dodman, and Chu 2013; Castán Broto and Bulkeley their experience with past climate-related disasters, a 2013; Chu 2016). Subnational governments have early- desire to display leadership, or response to domestic mover advantage due to their control over some sources and international incentives (Anguelovski and Carmin of GHG emissions (e.g., landfills), land-use authority, 2011; Carmin, Dodman, and Chu e 2013). Whatever their influence over local transport, building regulation motivation, what can subnational governments actually oversight, and role in public building energy management. do to support climate action within the parameters of the Many subnational governments are already taking intergovernmental system? autonomous climate actions, although these may not be recognized and appreciated by the central government. Some functions commonly assigned (in full or in part) to specific subnational government levels are Even where subnational governments can be assigned directly relevant to climate change action. These a specific role or take independent action, some include fiscal functions covered in Martinez-Vazquez climate change policies must be subject to national (2021) and administrative functions described here. regulations and mandates. Subnational governments, Decarbonization and adaptation goals, for example, can for example, may have authority over the implementation be supported by appropriate assignment of responsibility of clean electricity standards and development of (dedicated and shared) for specific infrastructure and ordinances to curtail emissions from electricity generated public services. Equally important is how functions are by fossil fuels, but these measures must respect national to be financed. Expenditure and revenue assignments standards. Individual efforts by single governments will have implications for the administrative functions be insufficient to achieve consistent or sufficiently rapid needed to deliver services and manage revenues, for progress at the scale required to contribute to stabilizing example, various regulations and standards, planning global warming levels. Nevertheless, despite the need for and financial management processes, the management a national framework and legitimate oversight, national of data needed to make decisions and monitor progress, climate policies and action plans should generally try and arrangements to engage appropriate partners, to respect decentralization and intergovernmental among others. legal frameworks. Beyond specific assigned functions, the potential Whether the central government or subnational comparative advantage of subnational governments governments lead on specific climate actions, vertical to plan in an integrated way for public functions and horizontal coordination and nongovernmental provided in their territories is highly relevant to partnerships are often essential to support the large- climate change. For example, specialized national sector scale energy and environmental transitions required ministries may oversee schools, water infrastructure, and to arrest the drivers and impacts of climate change. road construction, and an environment ministry may be Nationally led initiatives to set emissions reduction responsible for ensuring positive environmental impacts targets or promote decarbonization in transport, for of infrastructure. Such investments involve multiple example, require subnational governments to prioritize related activities and require extensive coordination on compact land use and procure appropriate low-carbon the ground. Subnational governments, whatever their transport technologies, such as battery electric or current official role in these investments, may often plug-in hybrid energy vehicles. Similarly, subnational have a better sense of how they can be synergistically governments may have legal responsibility for relevant planned and implemented in specific locations to reduce infrastructure, but production and provision may best be emissions, protect against specific climate risks, or yield shared with or delegated to utilities, private firms, and benefits for specific adaptation needs. other governmental and nongovernmental actors. Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 14 Given the intrinsic uncertainty associated with action (Bazaz et al. 2018). Although occupying less local climate change impacts and local sources than 3 percent of global surface area, cities consume of GHG emissions, subnational administrative nearly 80 percent of global energy and account for as responses can benefit from experimentation. Trial much as 70 percent of emissions (Seto et al. 2014). initiatives based on official subnational functions or a Outdated city land use regulations and zoning practices general mandate allow the testing of new ideas and can are strongly associated with carbon-intensive and create platforms for developing productive approaches vulnerable settlement patterns. Where urbanization is and reforms. Pilots are commonly pursued through rapid, failure to plan and enforce regulations to support opportunistic partnerships among varied mixes of public, compact, connected, and clean cities risks locking in private, and civil society actors. Urban government efforts emissions trajectories that will exceed global carbon to curtail building emissions or to electrify transportation, targets (Erickson and Tempest 2015). This is the case, for for example, may rely on inputs from firms, academics, example, in cities of emerging market countries in Africa and other actors. Local governance experiments have and South Asia, where most global urban demographic also been a first step to increasing investment in sectors, and income growth will occur in the next 30 years such as steel and building materials, characterized (Hogarth, Haywood, and Whitley 2015). Urban sprawl by high GHG emissions and high costs of abatement can lock in future emissions through carbon-intensive technologies (Vogt-Schilb, Menuier, and Hallegatte infrastructure and uncontrolled conversion of peri-urban 2018). The various actors in these partnerships have farms, grasslands, and forests that reduce land-based unique capabilities that can help to better translate carbon sinks. subnational government mandates into concrete action that benefits local populations and contributes to national Subnational governments will likely play an important climate goals. role in urban emissions reductions.5 A recent study found that 14 percent of the urban GHG abatement Subnational governments can also play an important potential by 2030 falls within the primary authority or role in the assessment of frameworks, policies, influence of local governments, while 19 percent is experiments, and partnerships designed to respond shared with, and 67 percent is led by, national or regional to climate change. Whether these elements are governments (Coalition for Urban Transitions 2019, 97). nationally or locally initiated or national or subnational This finding includes authority over decarbonization of in scope, it is important to document their performance electricity provision and functions related to urban land on the ground and assess the need for modifications use, waste management, travel demand, and public and the potential for scaling them up. Subnational transport. Excluding decarbonization of electricity, 28 governments can significantly contribute to such efforts percent of urban GHG abatement potential is under because of their connection to specific territories in which city governments. National and regional government these policies are being implemented, but this requires authority is concentrated on decarbonizing electricity the establishment of constructive linkages among the supply, switching to lower-emission fuels in buildings various actors involved and feedback channels within and transport, promoting energy efficiency standards for the intergovernmental system. If subnational climate appliances, and boosting vehicle fuel economy. response initiatives are successful, both the national and other subnational governments can learn from them and Urban governments will play an important role in use the lessons to take specific actions or develop more managing physical risks. According to one estimate, general policies and operational reforms. future sea level rise and storm surges alone could cost coastal cities US$1 trillion annually by the end of the 4.2 The Urban Perspective and a Note century (Hallegatte et al. 2013). A recent survey of 151 local governments in seven regions around the world on Rural Climate Action found they had the most influence over developing an overall city vision or strategic plan for infrastructure Cities and urban management merit special resilience (Gencer 2017) but the least influence in consideration in the context of subnational climate developing and enforcing building codes and connecting services to early warning systems. 5. Given country diversity, empirically assessing the potential of subnational governments in climate action is complicated. Methodological approaches include estimating emissions using future scenarios or questionnaires to survey subnational officials. Research requires simplifying assumptions, for instance, that subnational authorities have control over emissions or detailed knowledge of climate risks downscaled to their jurisdiction. These assumptions, along with issues of the comparability of cross- sectional or longitudinal data, give rise to valid concerns over findings. Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 15 There has been substantial innovation in cities, ways across regions and countries, and many strategies particularly where subnational governments work remain experimental or are primarily managed by central collaboratively with higher levels (Hughes, Chu, governments.7 There is, however, some experience and and Mason 2018). Urban climate adaptation remains considerable opportunity for more active subnational an emerging domain of multilevel planning. This government roles and rural community-based support.8 occurs through adaptation action planning, integrating probabilistic cost-benefit analysis into investment 4.3 Challenges in Subnational Climate decisions, and location-specific implementation of national policies, incorporating nature-based solutions Action and Implications for Strategy (compared to hard infrastructure), facilitating partnerships for climate services, and initiating independent Framing or reforming subnational powers and monitoring, evaluating, and learning systems (Chu et al. relationships in intergovernmental systems generally 2019; Mfitumukiza et al. 2019). faces design and implementation challenges.9 Some, such as a lack of clarity in functional assignments, Although this paper is more urban focused, rural finance policy issues, and funding shortfalls, are considerations should be noted. Rural areas are covered in Martinez-Vazquez (2021). In administrative highly dependent on natural resources and heavily decentralization, there are often comparable gaps, impacted by climate change, which can increase redundancies, and disconnects in, or excessive controls vulnerability and create special challenges for effective on, subnational administrative functions. Insufficient responses.6 Urban and rural areas do share common coordination and capacity deficits are also common. climate change remedies, such as improving land use and managing coastal areas and energy efficiency, but Many of these challenges apply to climate change they may manifest differently and require distinctive action. More than one level of government may have policies, including varied roles for subnational actors. regulatory authority over some functions, such as building Nevertheless, coordinated action may be required. regulations. Inadequate linkages between development planning and budgeting are particularly acute for Other policy areas, such as agriculture and forestry, adaptation and disaster risk reduction investments, given are more rural specific even though they impact a strong bias to fund infrastructure without providing for urban areas, for example, by affecting food security operation and maintenance costs. Instances of undue and migration. Improved food production efficiency can interference occur, for example, in heavy central control decrease agricultural emissions, reduce pressure on of land use and excessive restrictions on subnational land, and enhance food supply stability. Conservation human resource management, procurement, or private agriculture, sustainable intensification, improved sector partnerships essential to climate action. In livestock management, and irrigation efficiency are some cases, these behaviors disregard national legal often recommended approaches. Reforming forestry frameworks and could be counterproductive by limiting management reduces land degradation, preserves or subnational government buy-in (Clar and Steurer 2019). augments the quantity and quality of water from forest In other cases, however, the framework provisions being ecosystems, and increases carbon storage. Infrastructure violated by the center are demonstrably flawed and is particularly critical to rural climate actions. Infrastructure require modification. policies have been planned and implemented in diverse 6. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is producing its sixth comprehensive report, regularly documents rural issues in its assessments and has produced a number of rural-specific reports. The World Bank Climate Change Action Plan 2021-25 has a section on agriculture, food, water, and land that considers climate change challenges shared by urban and rural areas as well as some unique to rural areas. Other international organizations have done assessments and developed policies and programs to support rural climate change, such as GIZ, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Center for International Forestry Research, the OECD, and the Inter-American Development Bank, among many others. Finally, there are specific multi-actor efforts targeting rural climate change action, such as the REDD+ initiative for deforestation and forest degradation. 7. This is documented by Chirisa and Nel (2021) and illustrated by other references in the next footnote. 8. There is a wide range of literature in various fields that considers the role of subnational governments and local communities in rural climate change action. Examples include Ribot (2003, 2008, 2010, 2017); UNDP, UNCDF, and UNEP (2010); Vogel and Henstra (2015); Lund, Rutt, and Ribot (2018); Martin et. al. (2018); Mikulewicz (2018); Bausch and Koziol (2020); Chirisa and Nel (2021); Libert-Amico and Larson (2020); Ziervogel et. al. (2019); Fischer (2021); and Medina, Pokorny, and Campbell (2022). 9. See, for example, various treatments of these challenges in Martinez-Vazquez and Vaillancourt (2011); Smoke (2015); Frank and Martinez-Vazquez (2016); Grady et al. (2016); Bahl and Bird (2018); and Cook and Chu (2018). Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 16 Weak coordination is common in climate change– severity of the specific challenges to pursuing climate related functions—vertically, horizontally, and action, their interrelationships, and their fundamental locally. A national government ministry, for example, may underlying drivers. plan an infrastructure investment that violates (knowingly or unknowingly) national or local environmental Given the complex landscape of climate change and regulations, or a local public works department may cut intergovernmental relations, generalization about down trees without consulting the local environmental appropriate roles for subnational governments protection department. Insufficient collaboration among in climate change action is elusive. Normative subnational governments (at the same or different levels) frameworks offer a useful starting point, but formulaic can affect land-use planning partnerships, information approaches to dealing with climate change and overly sharing essential to managing transboundary risks, prescriptive application of normative decentralization and the synchronized contracting needed for joint frameworks will not provide sufficient guidance and may production/provision. be misleading. There simply is no unified conceptual or robust empirical basis for easily determining the Issues with information technology and the appropriate balance between centralized and more availability and quality of data required for climate decentralized approaches to dealing with climate change action are a well-known challenge. Some are intrinsic in specific situations. to uncertainties in climate-specific data (downscaled climate risk assessments, vulnerability), and slow-onset Lacking a compelling framework, a more hazards (drought, desertification, epidemics). In certain contextualized strategic approach is needed, with cases, there may be good information technology and careful attention to implementation and how the data on specific matters, but little or no information on roles of different levels of government and other other issues that are equally relevant to establishing actors may evolve over time. In any country, there climate priorities and planning action. Some existing would likely be certain clearly justifiable assignments information systems and datasets were created of climate change–related functions to national and through external assistance, and these are not always subnational governments tailored to conditions and institutionalized and sustained. intergovernmental systems. But where there are gaps and uncertainties in the legal framework or in practice, Any of the above considerations can be influenced and/or differences among the conditions in different by political economy and bureaucratic dynamics, jurisdictions, creative experimentation of the type noted including relationships with external development earlier can be transformative. Subnational governments partners in aid-dependent countries. Intergovernmental may test new kinds of vertical and horizontal partnerships institutional structures and functions, for example, are among governments, private actors, and communities to often shaped by national political priorities that trump create or change systems and procedures that work in normative principles pointing to specific desired reforms. context and can be adjusted as needed. There have been Efforts to define and implement climate actions can also some efforts to outline and illustrate such asymmetric be affected if different national ministries and subnational polycentric approaches (Morrison et al. 2017; Ostrom departments involved in dealing with specific issues 2012, 2010; Shobe 2020) have conflicting perspectives and agendas, and these disagreements may be reinforced by the interests of In short, there is considerable scope for subnational different donors. engagement in climate change action if properly framed in terms of specific needs, intergovernmental These various challenges are, of course, often systems, and other contextual considerations that interdependent. Functional redundancies and data will likely evolve over time. Asymmetric and adjustable issues, for example, may at least partly result from multi-actor approaches recognize not only the value ambiguity in legal frameworks and weak collaboration of principles but also that there is no standard path to among relevant actors. Any of them can be affected by integrating climate change and decentralization policies. more fundamental concerns, such as weak capacity With this in mind, the next section turns to the core (fiscal, technical, managerial) and national or subnational theme of this paper: how administrative decentralization political economy dynamics. Thus, developing workable has been and could be used to support climate improvements requires documenting the existence and change action. Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 17 05 Subnational Administrative Four categories of administrative functions are important for subnational governments in acting on Functions that Support climate change: Climate Action • Regulatory (zoning and land use, energy efficiency standards, emission standards, etc.) • Operational (development planning, procurement, budgeting, financial management, etc.) • Information and Analytics (emissions inventory, vulnerability analysis, performance in meeting environmental standards, etc.) • Collaborative Governance (intergovernmental coordination, multi-actor partnerships, community engagement, etc.) These categories are neither based on an established classification nor comprehensive, but they cover a significant range of administrative functions relevant to climate action. These administrative functions ultimately need to work together with fiscal functions, which are covered in the companion fiscal decentralization paper Martinez-Vasquez (2021). This section reviews selected functions in each category (table 5.1). As the scope of administrative decentralization precluded comprehensive coverage, the focus is on functions that emerged from the available literature. Inclusion of a function does not imply it should always be decentralized—an appropriate subnational role in any function depends on context. Thus, this section highlights illustrative efforts to incorporate climate issues into subnational administration and to situate them within the context and dynamics of the intergovernmental system. Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 18 Table 5.1. Select Key Issues Across Subnational Administrative Functions Function Key Issues Regulatory • Legal and administrative assignment of climate regulations • Climate regulation development and maintenance • Implementation and climate regulation enforcement Operational • Planning in transboundary infrastructure networks • Connecting climate risks across development plans, budgets, financial management • Greening subnational public procurement Information and • Determining the scope of emissions for a subnational GHG inventory Analytics • Collecting and analyzing multidimensional climate vulnerability data • Generating/reporting subnational government performance data on climate action Collaborative • Forums and partnerships for coordinating civil society and private sector mitigation Governance targets and action • Scientific and citizen participation in hazard mapping and climate risk assessment • Community leadership in climate adaptation decisions For each category, the definition and scope of the and adaptation measures, some of which were listed in function are provided, along with information on their role tables 2.1 and 2.2. Given the interdependencies involved, and performance in the intergovernmental system. The some of the examples provided cut across functional coverage of key issues is anchored in examples drawn categories, and this is noted where relevant. from sector and cross-cutting decarbonization, mitigation, Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 19 5.1 Regulatory Functions information disclosure, among others. The most stringent regulation design is a binding standard, requirement, or disclosure codified in a formal rule or statute and backed 5.1.1 Definitions and Scope by enforceable sanctions or penalties. On the other end of the spectrum, regulatory functions can be implemented National and subnational climate policies increasingly using soft standards or requirements that are voluntary depend on regulations to incentivize specific or do not involve punitive sanctions or penalties (Kasa, actions or investments toward decarbonization Westskog, and Rose 2018; Keskitalo et al. 2016). Table and adaptation objectives. Regulatory functions are 5.2 below briefly summarizes building sector regulations carried out across sectors using different means, such as for energy efficiency in three subnational jurisdictions. technology requirements, performance standards, and Table 5.2. Building Energy Efficiency Regulations in Three Subnational Jurisdictions Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Jakarta (Indonesia) Himachal Pradesh (India) Subnational Qualiverde Certification Governor Regulation of Energy Conservation Regulation Program (Decree DKI Jakarta No. 38/2012 Building Code 2018 3.5745/2012) Approach Mix of prescriptive and Mix of prescriptive and Mix of prescriptive and performance provisions performance provisions performance provisions; differentiated across two climate zones Key Instruments Point system for Technology requirements Technology requirements certification covering (e.g., electrical system) (e.g., lighting control) and different building systems; and performance performance standards successful certification standards (e.g., water (e.g., maximum allowable eligible for tax benefits efficiency) transformer losses) Building Sector New commercial and 100% of new buildings All commercial buildings Targets multifamily buildings, and 60% of existing with electricity load of 50 some retrofits buildings comply by 2030 kW or heat/air-conditioned space of 500 sq meters+ Emissions Reduction N/A 3.37 million tons CO2e 30% reduction in building Goals energy consumption Source: C40 (2014); Government of Jakarta (2020); EESL (2018). There is no strong rule on the appropriate conditions to introduce changes into markets tailored to local for choosing between the harder and softer forms of conditions, collect performance information, and monitor regulatory design. In the absence of climate-sensitive responses from relevant actors. Backed by programmatic national regulations, subnational governments are support or alternative forms of discipline like reputational often the first movers on climate action and experiment threats, softer approaches like sector guidelines can help with voluntary, non-binding standards or requirements to avoid unintended consequences, such as nominal cost imposed through local statutes and ordinances. Softer increases, that are passed onto vulnerable communities forms of regulation allow subnational governments through higher prices. Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 20 Softer regulations may also be less likely to face warehouses, and transport facilities), carbon sinks (e.g., immediate resistance or compel legal review by mangrove forests), marine biodiversity hotspots (e.g., higher authorities. However, they do not have the force coral reefs and fisheries), and material hazard exposure and urgency of binding national standards. If sanctions- (e.g., physical assets damaged by coastal flooding). based subnational government regulations are poorly designed or contravene national regulations with In the building sector, energy efficiency regulations provisions that preempt specific subnational government involve multiple functions that are commonly action, they can invite legal challenges that slow or decentralized. These are assigned either directly reverse progress across multiple localities. by central governments or indirectly via subnational government authority exercised in development plans Three key issues stand out in the area of subnational or through control of construction on subnational government regulations: government land. National building codes, energy conservation building codes, and other measures in the • Legal and administrative assignment of climate building sector controlled by central governments often regulations apply at the subnational government level as standards • Climate regulation development and maintenance to be either adopted completely or modified based on • Implementation and climate regulation enforcement local conditions. Even where regulatory frameworks do not specify building energy codes as a subnational The remainder of this section reviews these three issues function, local governments can often issue bylaws using examples from building and infrastructure codes covering energy use or efficiency in buildings under their that are highly relevant to subnational regulation, given general development mandate in the built environment local and regional government influence in the built as a form of regulation (see the case of Argentina in environment. Energy-related CO2 emissions associated section 6, summarized in box 5.1). with buildings alone totaled 9.95 gigatons of carbon dioxide (GtCO2) in 2019, with combined emissions, Rarely does any single level of government or including construction, comprising nearly 40 percent of entity control all areas of climate risk–informed total GHG emissions (UNEP 2020). building and infrastructure regulations. For instance, enforcement of national or regional standards to 5.1.2 Legal and Administrative Assignment of control stormwater and sewage—key to preventing Climate Regulations damages and losses from more intense precipitation and storm events—typically falls to local governments Legal and administrative assignment relates to and other agencies at the most decentralized level. whether subnational governments can promulgate Local governments may be responsible for drainage rules and regulations within a sector and the degree of performance standards for infrastructure on their land, autonomy given to them to perform tasks associated while a central- or intermediate-level government with those rules. Depending on the type of jurisdiction, road agency implements drainage regulations along a some subnational governments are more likely to already regional highway or major thoroughfare. There is also be embedded in a complex mix of legal and administrative evidence from major metropolitan areas that even where assignments. Coastal areas are a noteworthy example of there is good assignment for floodplain or hazardous overlapping regulations across mitigation and adaptation site regulations in the intergovernmental system, private policy areas, given the combination of broad population land and property developers shift investments between vulnerability, polluting infrastructure (e.g., shipping ports, proximate municipalities to avoid them (Shi 2020). Box 5.1. Introducing Solar Water Heaters into Municipal Building Regulations in Rosario Under the direction of ambitious local climate leaders, the municipal government in the city of Rosario in Argentina introduced Public Ordinance 8784 in 2012 to require all new and retrofitted public buildings under municipal management to use solar water heaters to heat at least 50 percent of the building water supply. There were no national building energy regulations at the time, so the city used its legal autonomy under the constitution to issue bylaws for the built environment as part of the local government’s Sustainable Building and Energy Efficiency Program. The city took over a year to formulate the ordinance, with key technical support provided by the environmental nongovernmental Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 21 organization (NGO) Taller Ecologista and the National Technology University located in the city. The initial effort has contributed to enhanced intergovernmental cooperation, particularly between the local financial institutions and the provincial government, to create revolving credit lines and other loan products to support market expansion of solar water heaters in the buildings sector. Still, stronger national and provincial government regulations are needed to expand the early success of the ordinance (30 solar water heater installations built in 2018). The range of potential climate impacts and standards that drastically increase costs beyond local emergence of new technologies and material resources can drive builders and developers to evade standards developed beyond the public sector’s regulations through the informal sector. Codes and other purview require that regulations governing public- regulatory standards should be revisited, evaluated, and private partnerships (PPPs) be updated. There are revised on regular timelines of three–five years, given the two major considerations. First, subnational government rapid pace of energy efficiency technology development, PPP policies and frameworks promulgated before due diffusion of passive design standards in the building attention to climate considerations might not recognize sector, and uncertainty about the precise level of future the subnational government responsibilities outlined in climate hazard variability and intensity downscaled to climate policies and strategies. This misalignment might local areas. encourage PPP projects to circumvent climate-relevant engineering or infrastructure codes (e.g., promotion On the technical options for building energy codes, of nature-based solutions) that impact how a project subnational authorities can choose from three is structured or where it is located. Second, dedicated approaches: (1) prescriptive, (2) performance based, climate-related PPP projects that require higher design and (3) outcome based. The two most common are standards or experimental materials usually entail prescriptive and performance-based codes (Becqué et al. new or heightened project execution risks (across 2016). Prescriptive codes feature detailed specifications identification, transaction, and contract management), for individual building components, such as the building necessitating additional oversight into how subnational envelope, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning governments and private actors distribute them in (HVAC), and other systems. Under prescriptive codes, alternative arrangements. For instance, even where they each measure details a specific technology or minimum are successful, climate-informed design standards (e.g., performance level required. Performance-based codes, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design [LEED] in contrast, are set for the building as a whole and certification in buildings) or restrictions on environmental establish a ceiling on energy performance compared impact can lead to longer project preparation periods to a reference building to establish code compliance. and increased preparation costs that might be more Performance-based codes allow building developers effectively managed with greater participation from to make tradeoffs between individual building systems independent professional standards bodies. to comply with the desired code level. Outcome-based codes, which are the least commonly used, establish a 5.1.3 Climate Regulation Development and narrow time period in which a performance level must be Maintenance achieved and verified. Regulation development and maintenance, Like energy efficiency codes, resilient building if consensus-based and open, depends on and infrastructure regulations for adaptation can consultation and other forms of participation from be prescriptive or performance based. Technical residents and industry stakeholders (see section decisions on climate proof regulations for buildings 4.4 on collaborative governance). Such an approach and infrastructure should account for hazard exposure, should, in principle, increase acceptance. There are, potential structural failure under hazard loads, and however, nontrivial technical considerations to work the social consequences of structural failure (World through in developing subnational regulations to support Bank 2015). Both prescriptive and performance-based climate mitigation and adaptation goals. Subnational regulation require at least two measures to guide government ambition around technology choices and development: linking standards to all-hazard exposure emissions targets must be balanced with an emphasis on measurements (identified by place and recorded on affordability and feasibility, given the possibility that new maps) and differentiating provisions according to building Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 22 type and occupancy. In the context of extreme physical codes and climate resilient infrastructure design disaster risks, some facilities, such as hospitals, schools, standards. These encompass a range of functions, and public security, constitute critical infrastructure including spot or other forms of verification and inspections, that should be accounted for in subnational regulatory bureaucratic and private sector systems for monitoring standards. The most important issue is updating codes compliance, and dispute resolution. In each there are that are not originally designed based on climate key distinctions between a focus on new construction projections to ensure they reflect the variability and and retrofits, whether resources are allocated to certain intensity of potential future climate-related hazards. areas within a jurisdiction (central business district compared to. peri-urban slum settlement), and the costs The overlap of building energy and climate resilience of permits differentiated by regulatory standards for types codes and other forms of building sector and of buildings (residential, commercial, industrial) and infrastructure design regulations presents many infrastructures. For instance, for flood risk reductions, complex design and maintenance challenges for new regulations that prioritize green infrastructure and subnational governments. At the most general level, nature-based solutions can be low-cost alternatives principal challenges involve navigating two tradeoffs. The to expensive stormwater drains. Enforcing regulations first is progressively higher standards that increase short- prioritizing these alternatives, however, invariably runs term costs, with payback and benefit periods potentially up against local capacity constraints when subnational delayed until other system-level changes occur. The governments have few engineers with technical training second is between promoting binding regulations to and experience with natural systems (Mguni, Herslund, strongly signal near-term time preferences on the one and Bergen Jensen 2016). hand (e.g., changes in building energy management preferences to reduce risk exposure to extreme High local recognition of health and other co-benefits disasters), and ensuring flexibility in local decisions on from building regulations (such as residential land use, housing, and economic development on the energy cost reductions) and other infrastructure other. Regulation development and maintenance must design standards can help subnational governments take into account whether proposed standards and to implement and enforce building energy codes. other requirements are consistent with the capabilities of Enforcement of multiple overlapping regulations in industry professionals across relevant segments of the geographic areas like coastal zones can be highly building and infrastructure development sectors. complex and entail ongoing coordination and education efforts best coordinated at higher levels of government. 5.1.4 Implementation and Climate Regulation A recent study of local integrated coastal management Enforcement in South Africa and Mozambique (Rosendo, Celliers, and Mechisso 2018) reports that basic knowledge of Subnational governments are inevitably involved in regulatory roles and implementation responsibilities implementation and enforcement of building energy varied considerably across South African municipal Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 23 managers and other local government officials in comprehensive climate action plan sector priorities and coastal areas. If a regulatory requirement is binding, targets were based on an emissions inventory baseline clarity in enforcement responsibility is important for the from 2015 and rolling vulnerability assessments in key credibility of regulators. The penalty for non-compliance sectors. Table 5.3 shows targets and other relevant data must outweigh the costs and be backed by credible as one of many examples of subnational governments threat of sanction. Working with national authorities, incorporating climate data into development planning. subnational governments can develop certification and The process of integrating climate change into core disclosure programs that include awards or public labels functions is a data-intensive process (see section 5.3 on as incentives to help encourage compliance with new information and analytics functions). building energy codes or infrastructure design standards that potentially offset some of the costs of more traditional Emissions inventories and climate vulnerability enforcement. assessments can help highlight where subnational development priorities fail to focus on reducing 5.2 Operational Functions emissions or account for specific transboundary risks linked to climate impacts. For instance, new development plans to promote compact spatial patterns 5.2.1 Definitions and Scope and provide public transit systems might be driven by goals to increase access to public transport and employment. Certain routine operational functions of subnational If plans are not connected to updated inventories or governments can be used to support climate change climate vulnerability assessments, they may not account goals. These include investment and spending decisions for embodied and operational emissions in component within development planning and budgeting systems design choices (e.g., use of concrete) that inadvertently based on updated emissions inventories and climate increase carbon emissions or drive exposure to major vulnerability assessments aligned with mitigation and climate hazards, such as more intense heatwaves or adaptation targets. For instance, the Durban (South Africa) flood events. Table 5.3. Durban (South Africa) Climate Action Plan Targets Emissions Baseline • 20.8 million tCO2e (2015) (Year) • Key sources: manufacturing and construction (41%); transportation (30%); residential buildings (12%); commercial and institutional buildings (12%); waste (2%) Key Climate Hazards • Urban heat island: Kwamashu and Phoenix areas are more than 3°C warmer than surrounding areas; city center temperature spikes of 6°C above surrounding areas • Drought: dry years (<700mm precipitation/year) up 3 times as often compared to 2015 • Storms/flooding: once-in-a-decade extreme rainfall events happening three times as often • Sea level rise: up to 1 meter under 4°C warming 2030 Sector Targets 2050 Sector Targets Energy • 40% electricity by renewable energy • 100% electricity by renewable energy • 30% energy efficiency in buildings • 100% of all buildings are energy • 100% net carbon zero new buildings efficient • 100% net carbon zero municipal • 100% net carbon zero new buildings infrastructure • 100% net carbon zero municipal infrastructure Water and Flooding • Increase alternative water supply • Increase alternative water supply capacity to meet 100% of escalated capacity to meet 100% of escalated demand demand • 80% drainage infrastructure upgraded • 100% drainage infrastructure upgraded Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 24 2030 Sector Targets 2050 Sector Targets • 3,600 km of riverine corridors to be • 7,400 km of riverine corridors to be climate resilient, clean, safe, and climate resilient, clean, safe, and healthy healthy Transport • 55% of passengers using public and • 70% of all passengers use public and non-motorized transport non-motorized transport • Shift 20% of vehicles to low emission • Shift 70% of vehicles to low emission vehicles vehicles Health • In compliance with National Ambient • World Health Organization air quality Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) compliance Maintain urban heat levels at • Maintain urban heat levels at average 2005-2015 temperatures average 2005-2015 temperatures (20.6°C) (20.6°C) Waste • Diversion of 50% of waste from • Diversion of 90% of waste from landfill landfills Source: eThekwini Municipality (2019). Integrating climate concerns into operations requires Additional key operational functions that can strong technical capacity. This is often done through support climate action are procurement practices training and progressively mainstreaming consideration and related systems, which influence a substantial of decarbonization and adaptation benefits and costs portion of subnational public sector expenditures. across the mandates of all subnational departments The purchasing power of subnational governments and agencies— not just the obvious sectors like water is significant. According to the World Observatory on or public works. In rural areas, central government Subnational Government Finance and Investment, extension services often lead to mainstreaming climate subnational government spending accounted for a into subnational staffing and training. In urban areas, quarter (24.1 percent) of total public spending and there has been a recent push, with mixed results, to 8.6 percent of GDP in 2019 (OECD and UCLG 2019). create cross-cutting chief mitigation or resilience officers Low-carbon and climate resilient frameworks can be in subnational governments to spearhead adaptation to developed to apply to a portion or progressively all of climate change. subnational government procurement. A critical operational function is the linkages Three key issues stand out in the functional area of between development plans and budgets (capital subnational government operations: and recurrent) to ensure infrastructure and services are adequately financed, as well as appropriately • Planning for emissions reductions and systemic operated and maintained once built. This is important climate risks in transboundary infrastructure to key subnational mitigation targets, such as energy networks efficiency in subnational facilities (and operations) and • Promoting resilience through stronger risk-informed methane control at solid waste landfills (Kaza et al. 2018). linkages between development plans, recurrent For adaptation and disaster resilience, creating linkages budgets, and financial management using information on climate risks is important because • Greening subnational public procurement major climate stressors can severely impair revenue performance and upend the financial models on which The remainder of this section reviews these three issues government service delivery depends. There is now with illustrative applications from the transport, energy, conclusive evidence that climate change increases the agriculture, and water sectors. borrowing costs of governments in vulnerable countries and regions (Kling et al. 2018; Beirne et al. 2020). Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 25 5.2.2 Planning for Emissions Reductions and grid-scale solar and wind power installations, which Systemic Climate Risks in Transboundary typically require large plots. Where planning conversion Infrastructure Networks of agricultural land is controlled by central and regional governments, local governments aiming to use their Planning for subnational climate action has both planning authority to promote renewable energy must in- and trans-boundary components. It thus depends integrate their development plans with higher level plans. on inputs and actions led by various actors at different territorial scales, ranging from neighborhood (e.g., slum Development planning to promote compact land- or informal settlement) to regional (e.g., water catchment use patterns is necessary but not sufficient for areas) and national (e.g., electricity distribution networks) low-carbon local economies. Whether urban or rural, (Ramaswami et al. 2017). Subnational governments can subnational operational functions must interact with use in-boundary planning to locate public facilities so as energy utilities and private firms to ensure provision of to encourage dense, connected settlements with lower new energy infrastructure, such as battery or fuel cell emissions and less exposure to climate hazards (Coalition charging stations, distributed solar and wind energy for Urban Transitions 2019). Compact, connected areas microgrids, and smart meters to better manage energy allow modal transport shifts from combustion engine loads (see China case in section 6, summarized in box vehicles to walking, bike riding, electric vehicles, and 5.2). Mid-century decarbonization targets increasingly lower emission mass transit like electrified buses. being adopted under the Paris Agreement imply that Moreover, subnational land use and planning to promote subnational development plans must consider regionally dense settlement patterns frees up peri-urban land for stranded infrastructure that cannot be decoupled from the fossil fuel economy (Gupta et al. 2017). Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 26 Box 5.2. New Energy Vehicles for Net Zero Urban Logistics in China China’s intergovernmental system has helped the country accelerate the adoption of battery electric, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to decarbonize urban logistics and reduce harmful levels of carbon dioxide and particulate matter pollution in major cities. Local and provincial governments are empowered to set ambitious targets supported by national mandates and fiscal support channeled from the central government. They also are encouraged to experiment with different mixes of demand and supply side measures under the special status granted to them as part of interlocking national environmental, industrial, and market development strategies (e.g., National Pilot Zones for Ecological Conservation). In Shenzhen, the city government’s fleet of electric vehicles expanded from 300 in 2015 to around 62,000 in 2018. The provision of supporting infrastructure to enable battery-powered vehicles requires complimentary planning measures that are most effectively carried out at the local level, such as locating battery charging stations to maximize vehicle operators’ travel distance and timing based on warehouses, logistical hubs, and other factors that influence where delivery trips originate and terminate. Some national- and intermediate-level government air pollution), employment (e.g., labor-intensive laws increasingly recognize the need for outreach and monitoring for forest protection), and transboundary climate planning, mandating regional livelihoods requires planning for transboundary strategies to coordinate climate actions between rural land and infrastructure systems that extend beyond districts, city governments, and regional authorities. individual jurisdictional borders. Spatial aspects of Collaborative scenario planning between subnational transboundary risks can be understood in terms of both governments and transboundary institutions, potentially geophysical (see Indonesia case in section 6, summarized supported by domestic nongovernmental organizations in box 5.3) and economic interdependencies. On the (NGOs) or international organizations, can improve latter, interconnected supply chains mean that damages development plans to account for transboundary risks incurred due to flooding from severe storms at key export (whether from climate impacts or associated with energy clusters can cause production delays that may lead to transition decisions). Given the high levels of uncertainty, output losses in subnational economies on the other scenario planning that uses representations of multiple, side of the world (Haraguchi and Lall 2015). Improved plausible futures of climate stressors based on the best information on transboundary climate risks support available information can help local officials to develop a development plans that can better prioritize investment broader understanding of joint energy transition threats, in infrastructure around less hazard-prone locations, opportunities, and vulnerability to climate impacts. signaling to households, commercial businesses, industrial firms, and other stakeholders where land Obtaining local co-benefits from decarbonization value might decrease or increase under future climate or adaptation measures for health (e.g., lower impact scenarios. Box 5.3. Slowing Carbon Emissions from Peatland Destruction and Land Use Conversion in Indonesia Indonesia’s tropical peatland is one of the largest land-based natural carbon sinks in the world, sequestering around 28 billion tons of carbon. Its destruction, through land-use conversion and wildfires, threatens to accelerate depletion of the world’s carbon budget for remaining under 2°C, along with biodiversity losses and higher flood risks. Indonesia’s peatland is concentrated in six of the country’s 34 provinces (Papua, Riau, Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, South Sumatra, and East Irian Jaya), making land-use conversion and wildfire prevention a key transboundary management issue. The 2015 peatland fires cost the Indonesian economy US$16.1 billion, with carbon dioxide emissions spreading across borders and causing health impacts for vulnerable populations in neighboring provinces and countries. District and provincial governments still control land use permitting, while the national government supports peatland protection and restoration. Key national measures include sustained peatland mapping, moratoriums on clearing forests and peatland, and village efforts for peatland rewetting and rehabilitation. Local control over permitting and land-use conversion, where these functions exacerbate fire risk during the dry season, remain major transboundary management challenges within the intergovernmental system. Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 27 5.2.3 Mainstreaming Resilience through Climate Risk- plans and budgets by using climate tags across Informed Linkages between Development Plans, operational areas. For instance, many are introducing Recurrent Budgets, and Public Financial Management climate-related budget and expenditure tags to track linkages between development plans, recurrent budgets, The potential disruptions of extreme risk events and financial management, generating detailed data on like flooding or droughts require stronger linkages the extent to which spending patterns and revenue flows between development plans, recurrent budgets, and support mitigation and adaptation. In the Philippines, for financial management in subnational governments. example, municipal governments can use 191 adaptation Local government revenue bases, whether anchored by expenditure codes to plan and evaluate their budgets user charges or the property tax, are highly vulnerable and spending patterns. These codes are connected to to climate impacts (Shi and Varuzzo 2020). More four instruments (policy development and governance; broadly, a common disconnect is a poor linkage between research, development, and extension; knowledge development planning and budgeting. Proposed climate sharing and capacity building; and service delivery) action priorities are not reflected in development budgets, spanning eight strategic priorities subdivided into 15 and/or the costs of operating expenses for new climate- intervention areas. proofed facilities are not reflected in the recurrent budget. 5.2.4 Greening Subnational Public Procurement The drought in Cape Town lasting from 2015 to 2018 caused major disruptions to the metropolitan Many subnational governments are going beyond government’s operational funding model, as climate-informed development planning to climate- revenue projections failed to account for water friendly public procurement. Greening subnational consumption plummeting by 50 percent in those procurement means using the purchasing authority three years. The drought created a double shock, in of subnational governments to (1) limit emissions and which an increase in alternative water sources and an ecosystem damage from public sector consumption increase in consumption among high-end water users and (2) support the formation and expansion of supplier led to revenue gaps, necessitating cuts to spending and markets for low-carbon and resilience goods and services impairing cross-subsidization for low-income water users (Agyepong and Nhamo 2017). Greening procurement is (Simpson et al. 2019). Such situations point to the role of not intended to steer subnational governments to higher national governments in providing fiscal assistance and costs, but rather, to promote a wide range of benefits in their operational ability to do so through contingent or addition to emissions reductions and climate resilience. force majeure arrangements, as discussed in Martinez- For instance, adopting different selection criteria and Vasquez (2021). terms allows green procurement to help localize supplier markets and facilitate fairer competition between goods In some countries, national public financial and service providers. management frameworks set out formal criteria to define domestic and donor finance for local climate Greening public procurement requires at least two action. Kenya’s recent Public Finance Management changes to existing practices. First, new costing Act (2012), for example, included regulations requiring methodologies must be introduced to account for all the Climate Change Fund to devolve finance for priority environmental and financial costs over the full product climate change actions. In some countries, criteria for lifecycle. Doing so will result in prioritizing the purchase what counts as climate finance are determined in ad of goods that have lower embodied and operational hoc lists of qualified activities or interventions attached emissions. For instance, subnational governments to specific-purpose grant transfers or loans disbursed might purchase smaller midsize vehicles with better through various channels of intergovernmental finance. fuel efficiency rather than a heavy-duty imported truck, These ad hoc lists might be a useful starting point, but even when the monetary (sticker) costs of the heavy- they rarely systematically strengthen linkages across duty option are lower. Green procurement can also favor development plans, the general budget, and financial goods or services that are more durable to wider ranges management systems. of climate variability. This might require other changes to prevailing asset management frameworks, such as the Whether national legal frameworks formally define use of accelerated asset depreciation in order to be able climate finance for subnational planning, subnational to respond more effectively when future disasters occur. governments can highlight risk linkages between Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 28 Second, tender conditions and procurement award depend on regular or periodic inputs from subnational criteria, often uniform for subnational public work governments and frontline service delivery units. Updated projects (e.g., roads), must be modified to account for data on climate stressors from central governments or low-carbon, local alternatives. Capacity considerations specialized weather service agencies can be combined are paramount because private firms bidding on with subnational government demographic data and contracts or procurement agents making decisions may localized knowledge to downscale risk assessments to not be prepared to meet different and less flexible tender specific subnational jurisdictional borders. conditions and criteria. They may also be unfamiliar with lifecycle costing techniques and may need dedicated Transparency in subnational government data support to develop the requisite skills. Where the green functions is also vital to effective monitoring of procurement market is small or initially emerging, central subnational government regulatory and planning government departments can support the formation of performance within intergovernmental systems relationships between subnational purchasing agents (e.g., supreme audit institutions) and by civil society and suppliers of low-carbon goods and services. and the private sector. This requires compliance performance be published so that the benefits and costs of adherence to specific standards and their impact can 5.3 Information and Analytics be assessed. Subnational compliance data are a key Functions component in multi-jurisdictional disaster risk indices used to price specialized financing and insurance products for subnational government assets. More 5.3.1 Definition and Scope broadly, data collection on operational performance, such as the quality of mainstreaming climate risk into Information and analytics are clearly essential to subnational government plans, must be captured to climate planning and action, including to regulatory monitor and evaluate progress toward meeting national and operational functions covered above and climate and environmental policy objectives within the collaborative governance functions described intergovernmental system. below. Basic functions include collecting information on emissions quantity (both point and nonpoint sources) Three key issues stand out in the area of subnational and quality (emissions with different climate forcing government data: potential like carbon dioxide, methane, or nitrous oxide). These make it possible to benchmark climate mitigation • Identifying emissions sources and designing a action and evaluate its impact over time. Other core subnational GHG inventory functions include monitoring air quality around local • Collecting multidimensional social vulnerability data emission hotspots, tracking development impact on local to understand local climate risks for vulnerable and transboundary ecosystems, and measuring hazard populations exposure and socioeconomic conditions to capture the • Generating and reporting subnational government multidimensional nature of vulnerability. Both quantitative institutional performance data upward in and qualitative data are needed to understand the local intergovernmental systems. impacts of climate change and to fully characterize the downscaled climate risks from transboundary hazards, The remainder of this section reviews these three issues such as flooding, fires, landslides, and coastal erosion. using illustrative points from the energy, transport, and water sectors. Many more recent efforts by subnational governments commonly feature the deployment of 5.3.2 Identifying Emissions Sources and Designing a low-cost sensor networks linked to central agencies Subnational Government Greenhouse Gas Inventory that record pollution and climate conditions in real time. Many long-run datasets covering transboundary Subnational government GHG inventories are a core climate stressors, such as heat, precipitation, or water information and analytics function that supports scarcity, are maintained by specialized national or decarbonization planning within and across the regional government departments or agencies because sectors falling under the mandate of subnational of their expertise in meteorology and environmental authorities. Depending on local capacity to identify assessment. Even where national authorities have emissions sources for the purposes of planning, local responsibility for specific climate-related data, they often and regional governments can select different GHGs Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 29 and geographic scopes to target. Doing so helps narrow the data to the emissions sources that they could subsequently influence through mitigation planning and action. Box 5.4 outlines where subnational governments new to collecting emissions data can start. Box 5.4. Getting Started with Emissions Data: Where Can Subnational Governments Focus First? Numerous protocols exist for different territories (e.g., cities) and sectors (e.g., forestry, agriculture, and land use) and for different policy, project, and product levels to support the design of a subnational GHG inventory.10 Of the full range of emissions sources falling under a subnational government mandate, direct organizational emissions are typically the easiest to identify, measure, and monitor. They include sources from assets (buildings, facilities, vehicles, etc.) controlled by subnational governments, such as stationary and mobile combustion, chemical production, and other fugitive emissions. Other actors of course also produce emissions in the operational territories controlled by subnational governments, implying a wider range of potential sources that should be counted. Central governments can support subnational 5.3.3 Collecting and Analyzing Multidimensional government GHG inventories by providing technical Climate Vulnerability Data support, developing protocols and associated standardized terms of reference, and creating Considerable progress has been made in national information technology platforms to host establishing systems to measure and monitor inventory data. Each is important because the challenges climate hazards and population exposure, but to collecting accurate, consistent, and comparable data innovations in measuring and tracking vulnerability on emissions are numerous. Careful accounting of inter- among different social groups has lagged. Local temporal changes requires that emissions sources be climate risk assessments based only on hazard and balanced across multiple scope boundaries (Fong et al. exposure information are incomplete and in turn can 2014). Scope 1 includes GHG emissions from sources lead to spurious conclusions on relevant climate action. within the jurisdictional boundary, Scope 2 includes Recent efforts by national governments and international GHG emissions occurring as a result of the use of grid- organizations on hazard and exposure data have supplied electricity, heat, steam, and/or cooling within the benefited from satellite technologies and remote sensing jurisdictional boundary, and Scope 3 includes all GHG instruments. Improvements in big data computing emissions that occur outside the jurisdictional boundary resources, the expansion of weather stations and other but that result from activities taking place within it. remote sensing gauges to monitor weather conditions in real time, and catastrophe modeling have helped to establish datasets for probabilistic risk assessment. This kind of assessment is necessary to understand the potential losses and damages from future, hypothetically more variable or intense, climate stressors. Box 5.5. Decentralizing Climate Information Services in Kenya Following Kenya’s new constitution in 2010 that created substantial devolution, the Kenya Meteorological Department has been decentralizing climate information services planning to the county level consistent with the 2016 Climate Change Act. Establishing director posts for county meteorological services in the 47 counties has generated notable benefits, including the provision of tailored climate information products, such as seasonal or onset/cessation rainfall forecasts, to pastoralists and smallholder farmers. With extensive ongoing support from the National Adaptation Consortium (ADA), county climate information service plans are being developed, along with local training on how to incorporate climate information into county integrated development plans. Ongoing challenges include managing incentives for tailoring top-down climate information to local short-term time preferences (seasonal) and conditions, rather than long-term trends to support adaptation goals by county planning officers. 10. See the Greenhouse Gas Protocol hosted by the World Resources Institute (https://ghgprotocol.org/). CDP develops protocol for states and regions and an online response system for subnational governments (https://www.cdp.net/en/cities/states-and-regions). Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 30 In most local contexts, vulnerability is as much or policy instruments and tools (e.g., action plans) and more of a determinant of risk than physical exposure. the legal decentralization framework that underpins Systemic vulnerability, however, is harder to measure intergovernmental relations. The vertical alignment than hazard and exposure. Systemic vulnerability between national strategies and resources and local to climate change has multiple dimensions beyond opportunities for action facilitate an assessment of commonly understood conditions such as monetary the extent to which subnational government action is poverty, and these include gender, community structures, consistent with and contributing to meeting climate policy and the formulation and valuation of knowledge objectives and targets outlined in NDCs as part of the and intangible resources (e.g., community ties) that Paris Agreement. underpin local adaptive capacity. Mobilizing multi- stakeholder collaborations between scientific research An important general point about climate change institutions and affected communities to measure and data is that although progress has been made, it map systemic vulnerability to climate change can be a has been difficult to develop and to use information constructive approach to generating more actionable technology systems effectively at both the national local risk information. and subnational levels in many countries. Some data deficiencies might be intrinsic to uncertainties in climate- 5.3.4 Generating and Reporting Subnational specific data (downscaled climate risk assessments, Government Performance Data in Intergovernmental vulnerability). They also result from such factors as lack of Systems resources, capacity limitations, and weak collaboration, among others. Subnational governments in poor regions Information and analytics functions extend beyond may not have regular access to or capacity for the most producing specialized data on existing impacts advanced hazard and exposure assessment tools, but and future climate risks specifically to institutional closing this gap is increasingly a priority for transnational arrangements for generating information on the climate organizations. In other cases, there may be annual performance of regulatory and operational good information technology and data covering historical functions and reporting in intergovernmental fluctuations in weather patterns and ecosystem changes, systems. Monitoring the regulations and operations that but little or no information on historical enforcement apply to some sectors of mitigation action is complex and of standards that are also important to national and potentially costly, given the geographic scale of activities subnational climate change priorities. In short, much and opportunities for evasion. Examples of regulations needs to be done to improve climate change information with a broad geographic scale that are easy to evade in generally and the role of subnational governments. the absence of robust monitoring include, for instance, energy efficiency codes for buildings or rural water 5.4 Collaborative Governance Functions pumps. Monitoring subnational government performance on regulatory and operational functions for adaptation outcomes can also be particularly challenging for higher 5.4.1 Definition and Scope levels of government. Qualitative information can be collected on the extent to which appropriate decision- Collaborative governance encompasses the norms support tools (e.g., probabilistic cost-benefit analysis) are and mechanisms for engagement between subnational utilized for key investments in adaptation and disaster governments and stakeholders in civil society and risk reduction (Nay et al. 2014). Still, tracking adaptation the private sector. Collaborative governance can help progress is complicated and subject to limitations, such build a shared understanding of risks and vulnerabilities as inconsistent definitions, incomparable baselines, and and thus the need to act. It is important because it helps limited data (Ford and Berrang-Ford 2016; Olazabal et to build consensus among multiple public and private al. 2019). stakeholders about appropriate policy responses, which ultimately these stakeholders must follow if there is to be Although generating and reporting data to assess meaningful action on climate change. Mechanisms that climate policy outcomes at the subnational level is support transboundary collaboration and coordination important, tracking policy process outputs, such as are essential to implementing more ambitious vertical alignment between national and local laws subnational action and to ensuring that transboundary and strategies, also adds value. A key process output risks are managed to benefit the most vulnerable local for climate policy at the subnational level is alignment, population groups. integration, or engagement between national climate Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 31 Mechanism designs must acknowledge and how best to manage these risks for private sector accommodate different interests and time stakeholders in response to proposed mitigation targets preferences around action even as they address and action, with key inputs from civil society groups that the urgency of improving resilience to the intensity represent local constituent interests, can help facilitate of compounding shocks and variability in local cross-stakeholder interaction around local opportunities stressors. Core mechanisms include platforms to share for low-carbon, climate resilient development. relevant climate data and plans, inclusive participatory institutions that enable meaningful community Multi-stakeholder forums or partnerships provide engagement by marginalized populations on decisions opportunities for collaboration among organizations that affect them, and multi-stakeholder forums and with competing interests and policy preferences. partnership arrangements designed to coordinate action Forums or partnerships can take a variety of forms, at different transboundary scales. The uncertainty ranging from voluntary or loose networks to contractual around current and future climate impacts underscores arrangements in which participating organizations make the importance of scientific inputs and legitimacy in time-bound, science-based mitigation commitments. In collaborative governance functions. Mechanisms that the absence of clear legal and regulatory frameworks increase consensus around priorities for climate action governing cross-stakeholder interactions at the and regular disclosure of updated climate risk information subnational level, transnational action networks often in formats accessible to vulnerable population groups support lead authorities in local governments to fund and support productive interaction with government operate new local partnerships designed as collaborative institutions that have authority over decisions at the governance experiments (Bulkeley 2019; Chu 2018). neighborhood, town, city, and regional scales to better These initiatives promote solutions and learning, but it cope with existing impacts. is often unclear how much policy feedback reaches and influences higher levels of government. Three key issues stand out around collaborative governance functions carried out by subnational There are obvious concerns around giving too many government: actors potential veto opportunities over mitigation decision processes. Research and practice, however, • Forums and partnerships for coordinating have demonstrated that a strong polycentric approach commitments by private sector and civil society to to the pursuit of local climate mitigation solutions does mitigation action not necessarily lead to deadlock (Ostrom 2012, 2010). • Scientific and citizen collaboration in hazard mapping Governance mechanisms that promote polycentric and climate risk assessment relations allow actors capable of working at different • Community leadership in climate adaptation decision scales the opportunity to generate benefits relevant to processes those scales. Doing so is often the only viable approach in the absence of a strong national policy framework The remainder of this section reviews these three issues that prescribes collaborative governance roles relevant using illustrative points from the energy, industrial, and to different scales. Civil society actors have been coastal resilience sectors. influential in steering local policy and investment decisions away from powerful fossil fuel interests (Ciplet, 5.4.2 Forums and Partnerships for Coordinating Roberts, and Khan 2015). However, power utilities and Mitigation Targets and Action between Private Sector other interest groups have the influence and means to and Civil Society Groups push retrenchment of subnational clean energy policy implementation (Stokes 2020). Many businesses that anchor local and regional economies face both local risks from climate 5.4.3 Incorporating Scientific and Citizen Participation impacts and transition risks from the design and in Hazard Mapping and Climate Risk Assessment implementation of climate policies, regulations, and plans. For the private sector, these risks can affect costs Collaborative governance functions that provide (and profitability) within regional production systems in regular scientific input into local hazard mapping and unpredictable ways. Fossil fuel energy providers and risk assessments can help increase the legitimacy certain industrial sector firms face high transition risks of proposed actions. Scientific data on forecasts under more ambitious midcentury decarbonization of temperature trends (dry and wet bulb measures), targets. Institutional forums or partnerships to discuss Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 32 regional precipitation patterns, and other climate intergovernmental system monitor these functions and stressors (changes in geographic distribution of vector enforce high standards of accountability. borne disease) might originate in the intergovernmental system, for instance, through extension services 5.4.4 Community Leadership in Climate Adaptation (see Kenya case in section 6). Local university, civil and Disaster Management Decisions society organizations, and research agencies can be an alternative or complementary source of scientific Inclusive community leadership requires subnational expertise. Collaborative governance mechanisms that governments to identify and nurture potential local provide regular input can help subnational governments leaders who represent local community interests move beyond conventional participatory institutions and can speak to local needs. This often means (e.g., budget consultations) that might be dismissive going beyond the generic mandates of national climate of or hostile to climate action. More generally, building and disaster laws to coordinate between subnational new adaptive capacities within the intergovernmental governments and community institutions, such as system can be supported by forging new connections neighborhood associations or civil society organizations among vulnerable populations, businesses, civil society that represent highly vulnerable population groups. organizations, researchers, and universities that have Given the well-established links between social inequality ties to other resources like transnational climate action and vulnerability to climate change, such community networks (Ziervogel, Cowen, and Ziniades 2016). leadership should aim to elevate poor women, children and adolescents, the disabled, sexual and gender Strengthening scientific inputs and community minorities, and ethnic groups from populations historically participation in risk mapping and risk assessment excluded from governing authority. can support more inclusive planning and improve the effectiveness of disaster risk management As climate impacts become increasingly and adaptation program designs. Participation in differentiated within and between regions, highly government is not always neutral—it can be susceptible localized coordination and collaboration will to harmful bias depending on the composition of only become more important to community-led participants. If representation from marginalized groups disaster risk reduction strategies (see Bangladesh is not sufficient, the preferences of wealthier constituents case in section 6, summarized in box 5.6). Adaptation might lead to various forms of maladaptation. For interventions can be (and often are) designed using instance, there is some emerging evidence that planning parameters set by national and regional actors, but they nature-based adaptation solutions, which in principle should be intentionally implemented locally in close can yield both mitigation and climate resilience benefits, consultation with local stakeholders (Mfitumukiza et al. is driving land speculation that results in displacement 2019). Community leadership is characterized by local and unintended vulnerability (Anguelovski et al. 2016; people and groups having individual and collective Anguelovski, Irazábal-Zurita, and Connolly 2019). This agency over how disaster risk and climate resilience threat at the subnational level means it is important that decisions that affect them take place. Within adaptation the central government and legal institutions within the practice, this is increasingly referred to as locally led adaptation (Soanes et al. 2020). Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 33 Box 5.6. Improving Local Coordination and Collaboration for Disaster Risk Reduction in Bangladesh Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to disaster risks associated with climate change, such as stronger tropical cyclones and storms, sea level rise and storm surges, coastal flooding, and vector-borne diseases. Although the country has made considerable progress over the past two decades in developing national disaster management policies and strategies, along with technical improvements in weather forecasting and early warning systems, the benefits of these efforts have not always reached local communities. To help improve local coordination and collaboration, national Standing Orders on Disaster (SOD) have increasingly recognized the role of local governance structures and actions at the community level and the need to prioritize vulnerable groups for leadership positions. For instance, the 2019 SOD requires local government executive officers to work with youth volunteers (40 percent of whom must be women) to establish a first line of community defense and involvement in key functions, including early warning dissemination, evacuation, search and rescue, humanitarian assistance, and post-disaster rehabilitation. Progress on establishing more inclusive community-level structures, however, has not always been matched with the fiscal resources needed to increase protective infrastructure in vulnerable communities. Transparent and accountable local decision backed by tangible resources for the most vulnerable and processes may be associated with vulnerability affected stakeholders, increase disaster preparedness reduction and better risk management (Hardoy, and contribute to more equitable post-disaster recovery Pandiella, and Velásquez Barerro 2011). Governance (UNDRR 2019). functions that contribute to clear roles and responsibilities, Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 34 06 Selected Cases of This section presents brief country cases to illustrate how some of the administrative functions reviewed in Administrative section 5 are used, often together, to act on climate change. Each case focuses on one climate challenge Decentralization for Climate and the use of one or more administrative functions— Change Action regulatory, operational, information and analytics, and collaborative governance—in the context of a specific intergovernmental system. It was not possible to identify “representative” examples, given the diverse universe of possibilities, and no primary research was conducted for this paper. Five cases—Indonesia, Argentina, China, Bangladesh, and Kenya—were chosen from secondary materials to cover varied challenges, represent multiple regions, and feature different intergovernmental system designs and decentralization frameworks. Each of the five cases starts by identifying the climate change challenge being acted on and the administrative function(s) used to respond. They all follow a common structure: • Indication of climate challenges and administrative functions involved (small table at the beginning of the case subsection) • Climate context and reform motivation (indicate why a specific action was undertaken) • Basic intergovernmental system structure and challenges (contextualize why certain actors were involved and why they needed to work with others) • Climate action, actors, and effects (explain what was done by whom, how the action evolved, and the results generated) • Outstanding issues (indicate what remains to be done to improve, build on, or replicate the specific action) Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 35 6.1 Indonesia – Slowing Carbon Emissions/Peatland Destruction Land-Use Conversion Climate Change Challenge Administrative Functions Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Regulatory, Operational, Information 6.1.1 Climate Context and Reform Motivation NDCs under the Paris Agreement, motivated changes within the intergovernmental system. Indonesia’s tropical peatlands are one of the largest natural carbon sinks in the world, second only to 6.1.2 Basic Intergovernmental System Structure Brazil’s. Deforestation and peatland conversion to and Challenges logging, oil palm, and other agricultural and economic development purposes have been driving up levels of Indonesia is a unitary state with a multiple-tier system of carbon emissions in many parts of the country. Moreover, subnational government. The regional level consists of uncontrolled peatland draining and conversion have provinces (34) with a second level of local government contributed to catastrophic forest fires, particularly during (514 cities and districts). Within the cities and regions are the dry season when average monthly temperatures are multiple administrative subdivisions, and at the lowest the highest. level are villages (many thousands). The system is fairly decentralized, with many public functions and a large Concentrated in the provinces of Papua, Riau, Central share of national resources allocated to subnational Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, South Sumatra, and East governments. Local governments have the most Irian Jaya, peatland areas in Indonesia are estimated to responsibilities and expenditures, but provinces have sequester 28.1 GtCO2 (Warren et al. 2017). Deep peat some broader coordinating and regulatory functions, swamps are one of the most effective types of natural and dedicated funds are allocated to villages for use on sinks for sequestering carbon dioxide per area, while local services. Subnational governments have significant also sheltering high levels of biodiversity and mitigating roles in many climate-relevant functions, including land flood risks. The Global Peatlands Initiative estimates use, water and other infrastructure, and sanitation/solid that draining and destruction of peatland globally over waste management. the past two decades has released carbon dioxide equivalent to 5 percent of the remaining global carbon Problematic administrative gaps and redundancies, budget for 2°C warming.11 along with bureaucratic and political economy factors, have created complex challenges to protecting tropical Despite being an early project adopter under the Reducing peatland and restoring areas damaged by fires and Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation forest land conversion. For instance, in 2011, a in Developing Countries (REDD+) Program of the UN temporary moratorium on clearing forests and peatlands Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), was adopted using a moratorium map controlled by the Indonesia has experienced two damaging forest fires Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF). While since 2015. The World Bank estimated that these fires the MoEF was responsible for maintaining the map, have cost the economy at least US$16.1 billion (IDR subnational governments had autonomy to rezone 221 trillion), with daily emissions exceeding 15.92 million forest land using a special “other purposes” category. tons of CO2, more than emissions of the entire U.S. Because provincial and district government zoning economy (World Bank 2016). CO2 and other particulate plans determined the forest area under protection, matter from peatland fires cross borders, causing permitting for land conversion on mining and oil palm health impacts on vulnerable populations in neighboring plantations continued. countries. Widespread damage from the 2015 fires, along with the recognition that peatland sequestration Other gaps stemmed from incentives that created of carbon dioxide is necessary for Indonesia to meet its opportunities between the provincial and district levels to 11. For more information, see the Global Peatlands Initiative at https://www.globalpeatlands.org/. Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 36 create new districts in peatland areas. The 1999 Law on 2019, focused on halting the?? conversion of primary Forestry required a minimum of 30 percent of land to be natural forests and peatlands for oil palm, pulpwood, and forest cover, but when new districts are delimited, the ratio logging concessions. of forest cover can be much higher than the minimum. This allows district and provincial governments to issue With support from United Nations Environment permits to cut forests down for development (Myers et al. Programme, the NPRA is working more closely 2016). Other gaps in land-use regulations and planning with village-level governments in target districts to between levels of government create opportunities for develop small-scale peat dams that support rewetting, political logging, whereby local officials grant new land reforestation, and revitalization.12 There is also national permits to private businesses in advance of elections funding to provide small grants for livelihood development (Burgess et al. 2012). through horticulture and fisheries. New conditional village development grants in specific regions also require local 6.1.3 Climate Action, Actors, and Effects communities to participate in peatland restoration. Following the 2015 fires, the Government of Indonesia 6.1.4 Outstanding Issues introduced ordinances to tighten the alignment of provincial and district land-use plans to slow down conversion of Some drivers of peatland loss continue to operate in peatland into plantations. Regional governments also the intergovernmental system. For instance, there is introduced new controls. For instance, the provincial commonly conflict between economic growth targets set government of Central Kalimantan abolished controlled at the central government level and carbon mitigation burn policies of agricultural and forest land, matching the priorities (Myers et al. 2016). The current GDP growth ambition behind the national regulations. target is 7 percent, while the GHG reduction target is 26 percent of 2005 levels by 2030. Although these targets The central government created the National Peatland might be compatible for some sectors, they lead to Restoration Agency (NPRA) to work with villages in damaging tradeoffs and pressures in the forestry sector. target provinces. The NPRA had a target to rehabilitate and restore 2.6 million acres of peatland from 2016 to Another issue is that national and provincial regulations 2020, an unprecedented volume globally, but without are not well understood by land users, which contributes an updated map of peatlands, the agency could not to low compliance. In a recent comparative study, effectively focus its efforts. In response, the National peatland users in Jambi and Central Kalimantan, Uda, Geospatial Information Agency initiated a competition to Schouten, and Hein (2020) report varied explanations find the best approach to mapping peatland. for the low compliance. These include unclear land titles, lack of accurate information on the groundwater From 2016 to 2020, the NPRA successfully met 45 table and deep peatland locations, and limited efforts to percent of the 2.6 million hectare peatland target set for advance potentially productive traditional forms of peat the four-year period. The temporary 2011 moratorium on management in national and regional policies. There is clearing forests and peatlands was made permanent in considerable need for remedial efforts on these fronts. 12. “UNEP Supports Project to Restore Peatlands in Indonesia,” UN Environment Programme, August 10, 2020, https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/ unep-supports-project-restore-peatlands-indonesia Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 37 6.2 Argentina – Promoting Solar Water Heaters in Municipal Building Regulations Climate Change Challenge Administrative Functions Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Regulatory, Collaborative Governance 6.2.1 Climate Context and Reform Motivation their constituents and collaborate with each other or with higher-level governments. The building sector in Argentina accounted for 17 percent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2016.13 The Although Argentina recognizes general energy efficiency use of natural gas to cook and to cool and heat buildings in urban infrastructure and public housing as a priority and water is the major driver of building emissions. Water in their second NDCs to the Paris Agreement, the heaters using motors powered by fossil fuel sources are country had no national energy building code for new or a significant source of emissions, and they frequently retrofitted buildings. Without any guidance, subnational burn out and are replaced before their expected service governments were left to determine their own standards, life because the power supply is unreliable. This impacts and what municipalities could do depended on provincial households and businesses operating out of both government policies. There have been challenges with residential and commercial buildings, with utility prices a coordination, and capacity limitations have affected the key concern for low-income households and firms in the extent, quality, and pace of municipal government efforts manufacturing sectors. to reduce emissions from the building sector. The reform in this case was undertaken by a specific 6.2.3 Climate Action, Actors, and Effects local government, Rosario municipality, which benefited from senior leadership who were highly motivated to In 2011, Rosario created a Sustainable Building and act decisively on climate change (Hardoy and Ruete Energy Efficiency Program as a strategy to curb GHG 2013). In addition, the constitution requires provincial emissions stemming from? future population growth and governments to ensure municipal autonomy, and the real estate development. As part of the program, the city province of Santa Fe was willing to let Rosario undertake issued public ordinance Nº 8784, requiring all new and this reform to deal with the problem at the municipal level retrofitted public buildings to use solar water heaters and then to learn from it for broader application. (SWHs) to heat at least 50 percent of their water. 6.2.2 Basic Intergovernmental System Structure Given a lack of expertise in the solar energy sector, the and Challenges city spent a year collaborating with different organizations and academic institutions, such as Taller Ecologista, Argentina is a federal state with subnational government an environmental NGO, and the National Technology levels. Twenty-three provinces and the federal capital University in Rosario, to develop an installation and of Buenos Aires make up the intermediate tier, which maintenance manual for SWHs. This collaboration was is relatively autonomous in undertaking a wide range necessary because Rosario could not depend on higher of public functions and generating considerable levels of government for this purpose. Once the technical revenues. Provinces have their own constitutions issues were identified and addressed, Rosario ratified and also have scope over the functions of lower-tier the ordinance by passing decree Nº 2120 in 2012. governments under their jurisdiction. There are 2,277 local governments with varied degrees of autonomy The ordinance detailed an implementation timeline and depending on provincial preferences and status (e.g., specified a need to coordinate with NGOs, academic cities, municipalities, towns as defined by provinces). institutions, and research centers, as well to create The Argentine constitution provides for municipalities to educational workshops to disseminate lessons learned have a legislature, and they can pass laws pertaining to from the experience to other NGOs, governments, 13. Climate Transparency, “Argentina,” Brown to Green: The G20 Transition Towards a Net-Zero Emissions Economy, 2019, https://www.climate-transparency.org/wp- content/uploads/2019/11/B2G_2019_Argentina.pdf. Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 38 and relevant actors. Public ordinance No 8784 laid the Municipal Bank of Rosario to work with the provincial the foundation for developing a more comprehensive government to create a new loan product to support small approach to renewable energy in the city’s building and medium-sized enterprises working on renewable sector outlined in Rosario’s first Sustainable Building and energy and energy efficiency. Furthermore, four years Energy Efficiency Plan. As of 2018, there were over 30 after Rosario passed its ordinance, the provincial SWH installations in public buildings in Rosario. government of Santa Fe created a revolving credit line in 2016 to finance SWH systems. More recently, there These projects, once installed, are administered by have been some initial proposals around legislation to small and medium energy service companies, providing increase the number of SWHs in newly constructed a source of income and economic activity to local government housing. businesses. Households in Rosario that adopted this technology have saved an estimated 80 percent of 6.2.4 Outstanding Issues water heating costs (ICLEI and IRENA 2018). Given the success of the program, Rosario has offered technical The public ordinance requiring the use of SWHs to heat courses on the ordinance to private solar companies to at least 50 percent of water in buildings still applies only continue with SWH installations, as well as educational to facilities owned by the municipal government. Although programs to other municipalities to replicate this the local market for SWHs continues to grow, the design, regulatory experiment. construction, and retrofitting of many residential and commercial buildings still rely on water heaters with Rosario’s initial efforts led to further intergovernmental motors powered by fossil fuels. Stronger regulations and cooperation between the municipal and provincial incentives are needed to increase adoption and broaden governments. The program’s success also motivated the impact of the reform. 6.3 China – Supporting New Energy Vehicles for Urban Logistics Climate Change Challenge Administrative Functions Transition to Low-Carbon Local Economies Regulatory, Operational, Information 6.3.1 Climate Context and Reform Motivation industry are dual motivations tightly coupled in national and subnational policy. China has among the most harmful levels of carbon dioxide and particulate matter pollution in its major 6.3.2 Basic Intergovernmental System Structure cities. Given rapid growth in local and e-commerce- and Challenges based consumption in cities, a large share of urban GHG emissions can be traced to combustion engines China is a unitary state with a four-tier subnational in freight and logistics operations vehicles. According government system: provincial (33), prefectural (334), to the Beijing Transport Institute, half of major vehicle county (2,851), and township (39,864), and a lower tier emissions in Bejing derive from heavy internal of residential and village committees. Each level has combustion engine trucks, only 6 percent of the vehicle multiple units within them, many related to various sizes fleet.14 Drastically increasing new energy vehicles (e.g., of urban and rural jurisdictions. China is one of the most battery electric, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cell) in decentralized countries in the world, with subnational urban freight and logistics is a shared national and local governments responsible for providing most public goal in the transition to low-carbon local and regional services, but with considerable concurrency among economies (Chen, Wu, and Zong 2020). Cleaning levels. The revenue system is more centralized, with urban air pollution and expanding a major green substantial revenue sharing, including some sources that 14. T. Fried and others, “The Road to Zero-Emission Cities Goes through Freight,” The City Fix, September 15, 2020, https://thecityfix.com/blog/the-road-to-zero-emission- cities-goes-through-freight/. Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 39 accrue entirely to subnational governments. Although • Municipal governments in tier 1 cities have subnational governments have some expenditure implemented measures to accelerate the deployment decisions, budgeting and financial management systems of more efficient energy vehicles in road freight exert some control and monitoring of behavior and logistics (Hunter et al. 2019). These measures performance. It is, in short, a complex system, but it include: Using mandates to increase infrastructure offers considerable scope for subnational governments for low-carbon energy and technology vehicles (e.g., to play a major role in climate response. chargers and charging stations) and implementing vehicle registration restrictions for logistics vehicles Central government subsidies help local businesses using internal combustion engines and major logistics firms to deploy electric vehicles by • Increasing fleet-wide fuel economy standards for subsidizing up to 50 percent of vehicle costs. These urban logistics vehicles subsidies have created pricing parity for new energy • Piloting urban logistics planning using sensors and vehicles but have not necessarily helped individuals real-time tracking to increase control over freight and firms acquire these expensive cars, vans, and movement, thereby improving energy efficiency in trucks. Rather, the subsidy accelerated the formation the movement of goods of new market segments, such as leasing companies, • Using transport demand management to restrict that use the funds to acquire vehicles and lease them to the mobility of internal combustion logistics vehicles transportation companies and firms. (e.g., banning polluting and allowing electric vehicles during specific times) Beyond the incentive effect of national subsidies, China’s system allows local governments to pass standards The deployment of new energy vehicles for urban and regulations defined by credible targets, while logistics is further supported by the designation of national authorities also promote top-down experiments National Pilot Zones for Ecological Conservation. The that try to leverage linkages between urban planning, central government requires 80 percent of new or environmental quality, and industrial policies (Chen et al. repaired public sector vehicles to be new energy vehicles. 2017). Provincial governments are also empowered to This designation unlocks additional funding from central set targets for new energy vehicles to further incentivize and provincial governments to implement the national local deployment. policy, reinforcing the important links between fiscal and administrative measures to address climate change. Strategic investment planning capacities in China’s major cities have improved, but a few key intergovernmental The array of mandates and policies at both the local system challenges have to be addressed to significantly and national levels on the regulation of electric vehicle increase the number of electric freight and logistics infrastructure, collaboration with suppliers, and data vehicles and support the transition to low-carbon local management generated important benefits. New energy economies. The main challenges include improving vehicles in urban freight and logistics operations are information technology to generate relevant data rapidly expanding, accelerating the shift required to and developing local capacity and implementation reduce urban emissions and improve environmental strategies to translate ambitious targets into regional and quality (Hunter et al. 2019). For instance, Shenzhen local policy. has been a pilot city for electric vehicles since 2009 and has become a leader in the country. From 2015 to 6.3.3 Climate Action, Actors, and Effects 2018, the city’s fleet of electric vehicles expanded from 300 to around 62,000, with electric light trucks and vans Central, provincial, and local governments in China have comprising almost 35 percent of the urban delivery each taken steps that work together to create interlocking vehicle fleet (Crow et al. 2019). The initial reforms have policies and incentives to reduce air pollution and also led to additional measures: since 2018, logistics encourage the deployment of new energy vehicles for companies can only procure new energy vehicles in the urban freight and logistics. National regulations apply to light duty truck class. new energy vehicle manufacturing enterprises, while two major plans led by the State Council guide deployment: 6.3.4 Outstanding Issues Energy Conservation and New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2012–2020) and the China New Although new energy delivery and light freight vehicles Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2021–2035). are part of a strategic national industry in China, Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 40 outstanding local issues require further attention. First, to further expand the distance reached by new energy adjusting to the introduction or use of hard targets and vehicles from warehouses and other logistics hubs. This restrictions and bans on certain delivery vehicles in urban requires that the location of charging infrastructure be areas (e.g., by fuel type or by size) takes time for logistics better matched to where logistics operators originate firms and can create new cost burdens that disrupt the and terminate vehicle trips. These and other types of flow of goods (Chen, Wu, and Zong 2020). Another additional reforms to better coordinate urban planning issue involves improving supply and demand planning would build on the gains from measures adopted thus far. 6.4 Bangladesh – Improving Collaboration for Disaster Risk Reduction and Response Climate Change Challenge Administrative Functions Extreme Physical Risk Collaborative Governance 6.4.1 Climate Context and Reform Motivation levels: divisional (in city corporations), district, and subdistrict, reinforcing the prominence of the center. Bangladesh is one of the most climate change vulnerable countries in the world. Key hazards associated with Despite developing over the past two decades among extreme physical risk include tropical cyclones and the most advanced hydrometeorological forecasting storms, sea level rise and storm surges, coastal flooding operations and national cyclone early warning systems and saltwater intrusion, heat stress from high wet bulb in the world, localities around the country have continued temperatures, and vector-borne diseases. The country’s to experience lapses in evacuation behaviors and other physical exposure to extreme hazards reflects its risk management practices (Roy et al. 2015). Within the geographic characteristics and high coastal population intergovernmental system, limited local coordination densities. Located on the shallow Bay of Bengal, which and ambiguity in disaster risk management roles have features high surface temperatures and a concave coast, increased vulnerability to extreme physical risk events, Bangladesh’s demographic and physical characteristics such as storm surges during cyclones and coastal compound transboundary climate risks in both rural and flooding from higher rates of precipitation. urban areas. The impacts of extreme risk events hold the potential to cascade far beyond their immediate 6.4.3 Climate Action, Actors, and Effects physical damages. Community-led governance has been key in the 6.4.2 Basic Intergovernmental System Structure country’s shift from reactive to proactive local disaster and Challenges management (Azad et al. 2019). National policy reform bolstered by national disaster management legislation Bangladesh is a unitary state with a subnational has strengthened the community-driven disaster risk government system comprised of administrative districts reduction model. For instance, the 2012 Disaster (64) with various urban and rural local governments Management Act (DMA) created the legal basis for local within their boundaries. Local governments have governance structures for disaster risk management. responsibility for some functions, but largely those These include City Corporation Disaster Management delegated by national authorities. There are some local Committees, District Disaster Management Committees, revenue sources, but transfers dominate local funding. Upazila Disaster Management Committees, Pourashava Urban governments are single tier and of two types: Disaster Management Committees, and Union Disaster city corporations (11) and municipalities/pourashavas Management Committees. (324). Rural local governments have three tiers: district/ zila parishads (64), subdistrict/upazila parishads (510), The 2012 DMA also recognized the Standing Orders on and villages/union parishads (5000+). The national Disaster (SOD) as a key instrument with legal backing government operates deconcentrated administrative used to determine the liability, responsibility, and units of central ministries and agencies at three lower Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 41 duties of different actors within the intergovernmental disaster committees have notably grown over time. system. In doing so, the DMA has helped integrate a Even as Bangladesh remains highly exposed to extreme coordination structure that stretches from the National climate impacts, the country’s coordination structure has Disaster Management Council down to village disaster supported reductions in losses from recent historically committees, the lowest level of disaster management in intense cyclones and flooding events. Deaths from major the country. cyclones have declined significantly. Major cyclones in 1991 (Gorky), 2007 (Sidr), and 2009 (Alia) killed more The systematic incorporation of vulnerable populations than 143,000 people, while more recent cyclones in into the SOD has contributed to structural improvements 2017 (Mora), 2019 (Fani), and 2020 (Amphan) killed an in community-led disaster risk reduction over the past estimated 45–50 people. decade. For instance, at the upazila level, the 2019 SOD features the following requirement of the executive 6.4.4 Outstanding Issues officer: “establish ‘first line defense’ at the upazila, union and ward levels with local youth volunteers (at least 40% Despite these improvements in community-led disaster of them have to be women) to assist in early warning risk management, the continuing shortfalls in funding for dissemination, evacuation, search and rescue, and networked infrastructure and other physical risk mitigation humanitarian assistance and rehabilitation initiatives.” assets mean that many communities remain highly This provision did not exist in the previous 2010 SODs vulnerable to climate-related hazards. Although inclusive and has opened additional space for deeper and more participation in local disaster management governance effective civic engagement. has clearly improved, gaps in intergovernmental planning and budgeting slow down the delivery of The payoffs from developing such an expansive protective infrastructure (Islam, Chu, and Smart 2020). coordination structure spanning the National Disaster Thus, despite progress on local coordination, there is Management Council to the more than 2,000 village considerable scope for additional measures and funding. 6.5 Kenya – Decentralizing Climate Information Services for Locally Led Adaptation Climate Change Challenge Administrative Functions Slow Onset Environmental Change Operational, Information, Collaborative Governance 6.5.1 Climate Context and Reform Motivation subnational governments will take action on climate change. These institutional reforms have also generated Kenya is a highly agro-ecologically diverse country that pressure on the intergovernmental system to increase is vulnerable to a range of slow onset environmental and improve the quality of climate information available threats associated with climate change, such as longer to county governments as well as to integrate this droughts, higher flood frequency, and sea level rise. information into local development plans, service Given the diversity of physical and economic conditions delivery, and monitoring and evaluation. in the country, ranging from farmers and pastoralists to urban-based production and consumption, the specific Although the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) risks faced by local communities and economies is the lead agency on decentralizing climate information vary considerably. service planning at the county level, an important impetus for reform was technical and coordination A new constitution adopted in 2010 created a substantial support provided by the Adaptation Consortium (ADA) devolution. Major reforms have increased subnational and linked to funding through the County Climate authority and significantly modified accountability Change Fund (CCCF).15 The ADA is a multi-stakeholder arrangements, increasing expectations that new collaboration focused on mainstreaming climate change 15. For more information, see https://www.adaconsortium.org. Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 42 considerations into county development planning. It is upward to the Kenya Meteorological Department but led by the National Drought Management Authority and is also responsible for delivering climate information its membership includes the National Treasury, National services to inform the County Integrated Development Climate Change Directorate, National Environment Plan (CIDP) and decisions by single sector authorities. Management Authority, Ministry of Devolution and Arid and Semi-Arid Lands, and Council of Governors. The CDM additionally oversees the development and implementation of the County Climate Information Another important driver of reform is the Climate Change Services Plan (CCISP). The CCISP is intended to Act (2016). By passing this legislation, the national establish systematic benchmarks and actions for government established itself as one of the most tailoring national weather and climate information to ambitious in the world in terms of actively promoting the help target vulnerable population groups and livelihoods, decentralization of adaptation policy and planning. in particular, supporting local decisions for the CIDP (Isiolo County Climate Information Services Plan 6.5.2 Basic Intergovernmental System Structure 2018). In Kitui county, for example, the CCISP outlines and Challenges a set of geographically contextualized products, such as seasonal or onset/ cessation rainfall forecasts, to Kenya is a unitary state with a single-tier system improve livelihood planning for climate hazards among of 47 subnational governments at the county level. smallholder farmers, pastoralists, and agro-pastoralists The 2010 constitution devolved development (Barrett, Ndegwa, and Maggio 2020). planning and major service delivery authority to the counties, along with selected revenue sources and Kenya’s National Climate Action Plan (2018–2020) substantial intergovernmental transfers. In addition includes targets for the production of 24 CCISPs. to responsibility for major public works, infrastructure, Chaudhuri, Summerlin, and Ginoya (2020) report and sanitation services relevant to climate change that the ADA is supporting local training to incorporate action, county governments have responsibility for climate information into the CIDPs, with some counties controlling air pollution, disaster management, and the mandating county and ward-level adaptation planning implementation of specific national government policies committees to demonstrate that they have used local on natural resources and environmental conservation in climate information services to secure resources their jurisdictions. from the CCCF. Improvements have been reported in climate information systems and their incorporation into Even as county governments take on more responsibility the CIDPs. for integrating climate risks into development planning, the intergovernmental system faces gaps in There is also emerging evidence of impact. An analysis information technology and scientific data on slow onset of decentralized climate information services in Kitui environmental change that threatens agriculture and other county, for example, found positive returns over a 10- major sectors. Kenya’s Second National Communication year period with a benefit-cost ratio of 14.56 (Barrett, to the UNFCCC recognized this challenge, in particular, Ndegwa, and Maggio 2020). Climate information users how improved information flows across levels of in Kitui households benefited from locally contextualized government were critical to the integration of climate weather and climate information products, enabling them change considerations into county poverty reduction and to shift to less climate-sensitive productive activities development strategies.16 when forecasts indicated less rainfall. 6.5.3 Climate Action, Actors, and Effects 6.5.4 Outstanding Issues The Kenya Meteorological Department, the agency Outstanding climate information issues in Kenya include responsible for climate information, is decentralizing the need to continue rolling out and improving information climate information services by establishing county systems and their effective use in more counties. There meteorological offices headed by county directors are also specific challenges, particularly related to of meteorological services (CDM). The CDM reports tailoring top-down climate information to local preferences 16. Kenya, Government of, Kenya: Second National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Nairobi: Ministry of the Environment, Natural Resources and Regional Development Authorities, 2015), https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/kennc2.pdf. Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 43 and conditions. For instance, pastoralists in Isiolo county and responsibility for climate change responses and the reported more interest in short-term seasonal change possible benefits of system reform. data rather than information covering longer-term periods of change that are critical to adaptation efforts (Fisher Third, many key climate change actions are et al. 2018). Regional models used to make climate (often necessarily) initiated and managed by the projections at the county level were also unable to clearly national government, but others emerge from the communicate changes in the frequency of more extreme independent initiative of subnational governments. hazard events in a format that was considered usable by Subnational actors must respect national mandates county planning officers. and guidelines—with possible appropriate adaptation to reflect their own conditions. At the same time, successful actions that originate in subnational governments could 6.6 Selected Observations on be recognized, supported, and even promoted by higher the Cases levels, and there may be opportunities to adopt/adapt them in other subnational jurisdictions. A number of basic observations can be drawn from the Fourth, effective climate change response generally selective country experiences. None are particularly requires concurrent measures on multiple fronts. surprising; in fact, for the most part they reinforce the Individual subnational administrative actions can discussions in the previous sections. Nevertheless, these help, but they often depend on other measures. Many cases highlight considerations that can assist efforts to operational actions, for example, must be supported by assess how subnational administrative functions might regulatory measures, and both require good data, which support climate change action in particular countries. typically come from multiple sources and need to be adequately managed. Such linkages must be considered First, the priorities and motivations of different in developing an overall package of integrated measures actors in the intergovernmental system to deal with to enhance the subnational government role in climate climate concerns depend in part on the specific change. Most of the cases involved more than one manifestations of climate change in their locations. type of administrative measure, and some also had a National governments will have a wider perspective fiscal dimension. and be motivated to promote actions that respond to conditions broadly experienced and of national and Fifth, many administrative functions require international impact. Subnational governments most mechanisms to coordinate action vertically across affected by specific climate change impacts will be government levels and/or horizontally among particularly concerned about dealing with them. neighboring jurisdictions. Although these exist in some countries, they are not necessarily systematically Second, responsibility for action depends to a great designed—they may simply have emerged in an ad hoc extent on the institutional structure of the government manner for certain purposes and in specific locations. system and provisions of the intergovernmental More formalized mechanisms would offer principle- legal framework, which differed considerably across based procedures and guidelines to facilitate productive the cases. The path to action and the responsibilities and fair collaboration. At the same time, subnational and incentives best suited to pursue it will vary to reflect governments also need appropriate flexibility to work the number of government levels, the degree of their in partnership with higher-level and peer governments, empowerment, and the relationships among them. A as well as nongovernmental actors, to respond to system must be well understood to determine options climate change. Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 44 07 Looking Forward: Designing The literature and case reviews point to a number of framing principles for considering how to and Implementing approach climate action in intergovernmental systems. Several observations and lessons suggested Administrative Reforms for by the cases were noted at the end of section 6. These More Effective Subnational centered on recognizing locational differences in climate priorities; variations in intergovernmental systems; the Government Engagement in role of independent subnational innovations in climate Climate Change response; the interdependence of elements of climate action (administrative and fiscal); and the value of appropriate collaboration among actors, governmental and nongovernmental. A few other notable points can also be drawn from the preceding sections. First and most fundamentally, the national actors that shape climate change and decentralization policies could collaborate to develop and integrate their efforts in ways that generate mutual benefits. Many countries have national decarbonization and adaptation plans that do not reflect the intergovernmental system structure or ongoing decentralization reforms. More collaborative efforts could allow fuller assessment of the tradeoffs and opportunities, help improve working relationships among the relevant actors, and facilitate processes that pragmatically balance the roles that different levels of government could productively play in climate action. Second, there is value in consulting and learning from subnational actors in developing national climate change policy. Overly centralized approaches to decarbonization and adaptation may insufficiently reflect local knowledge and fail to gain support from subnational authorities whose cooperation is required for effective action. Centrally dominated efforts may also not reflect the diversity of subnational conditions and Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 45 priorities and overlook constructive reforms already being tensions involved will inevitably create challenges, but the adopted by subnational governments, such as renewable process of resolving them can be productive in advancing energy ordinances, low-cost information sharing, or both climate change and decentralization agendas if the floodplain mapping and early warning systems based on relevant actors work together constructively. Such an local knowledge. approach could also help to inform the development of more effective donor support. Third, there is a need for more robust consideration of how to implement subnational climate change 7.1 Framing Assessment of action. There is a tendency to follow normative principles and prioritize sound design, but the lack of an Administrative Decentralization for integrated conceptual framework and strong empirical Climate Change Action evidence, as well as the complex climate change and intergovernmental system landscape covered in this paper, impedes generalization and the use of The previous discussion highlighted the complex standardized approaches. This suggests a need for a landscape in which subnational climate change more contextualized strategic approach, with careful action must be crafted. Developing or enhancing attention to identifying entry points for implementation as administrative decentralization for climate change well as to considering how the roles of different levels of can start from different (although not necessarily government and other actors may evolve over time. mutually exclusive) perspectives. There are, however, certain basic considerations that need to be taken into Fourth, experimentation is often warranted as account no matter which perspective(s) is (are) used. part of an overall strategy, given the uncertainty surrounding climate change drivers, impacts, The perspectives that may be used include: and effective solutions, as well as the effects of contextual variations across and within countries. • How a national climate policy or action Use of innovative initiatives can test new ideas and could engage subnational governments create a platform for developing and mainstreaming productively, given the structure and capacity of the productive approaches and reforms. Devising and intergovernmental system and prospects for reform piloting remedial action may profit from partnerships • How decentralization policies and reforms can with other governmental and nongovernmental actors be designed to enhance their relevance for and engaged to tap into their comparative advantages. potential efficacy in contributing to climate action • How proven instances of blending climate Fifth, regular systematic assessment of remedial change and decentralization activities by a actions, experiments, and partnerships is essential. national or subnational government can be The evidence produced can be used to identify assessed and how they might be used or adapted adjustments and allow climate response to evolve so as for application elsewhere, as appropriate to improve and institutionalize good practice, including how different actors work together. This kind of learning Assessing and pursuing reform from any of these approach requires constructive linkages and feedback perspectives requires: channels within the intergovernmental system. It also has the potential to attain more ambitious and sustainable • Documenting priority climate change issues— climate goals—local, national, and global—in the decarbonization or other GHG mitigation, transition medium and longer term. to low-carbon economies, extreme physical disaster risks and slow-onset environmental change— Collectively, these considerations reinforce the experienced in a particular country or location potential value of considering administrative (section 2.1) decentralization and climate change policy jointly. • Identifying possible remedial measures to Collaboration allows better assessment of shared alleviate priority issues (section 2.2 outlines understanding and points of disagreement regarding basic considerations, and tables 2.1 and 2.2 the roles that different levels of government could play illustrate decarbonization, mitigation, and in climate change action. The different perspectives and adaptation measures) Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 46 • Understanding the legally defined, actual, and This assessment should be based on a review latent roles of subnational governments in of the available data by climate change experts. potentially productive remedial actions, as well Countries party to the Paris Agreement will already have as the current and potential relationships these NDCs, and most will have institutional arrangements for subnational governments have or could have managing their climate change response. Subnational with other actors (general treatment in section 3 governments may build on national efforts, and larger, and more specifics regarding climate change in more capable regional and urban governments have section 4) their own mechanisms and defined needs. Priorities are • Determining the challenges associated with the driven by specific critical problems of public concern in current arrangements and possibilities for, as a country or subnational jurisdiction, such as worsening well as the feasibility of, adopting the desired pollution, episodic flooding, or environmental degradation reforms (section 4.3, with more detailed discussion that harms quality of life. Prioritization may also be of administrative decentralization in section 5 and influenced by a recent catastrophic climate-related event, illustrative cases in section 6) the effects of which might have been less severe had proper precautions—better, more regular measurement Expertise in both climate change and decentralization of relevant indicators, sound regulations, provisions for and intergovernmental relations would be valuable on construction of climate-resistant infrastructure, and so a team that is considering opportunities for enhancing forth—been in place. subnational climate change policies and reforms. 2. Which types of policies and actions would be 7.2 Diagnosing Needs and appropriate to deal with the priorities? Assessing Options for Subnational Prescribing specific remedial options in a particular Administrative Action case is beyond the scope of this paper, but the types of policies and actions relevant to dealing with specific climate issues can be identified. Examples The administrative measures that could be used of policies and actions were presented in tables 2.1 for climate policy and action are potentially and 2.2, with more specific treatment of administrative extensive. Many problems will require multiple decentralization in section 5 and selected cases in section remedial and preventive actions, so that even if a 6. This information and other issue-specific materials can regulation is beneficial in principle, it may be ineffective guide the identification of alternatives. if complementary operational or information functions— and perhaps including fiscal incentives—are not 3. Which relevant policies and mechanisms are simultaneously adopted. already in place? The institutional/intergovernmental landscapes in Once potential options are determined, the next step which these climate change issues play out and must is to establish if/to what extent they or elements be recognized were also shown to be diverse and thereof are currently in place (including which complex. Various governmental and nongovernmental actor(s) have responsibility) and how well they are actors at one or more level(s) may be differentially or functioning. This can suggest more specific reforms redundantly empowered to take specific administrative and gaps that need to be filled. This assessment also actions. There may also be established or potentially involves deciding which actors to involve, including productive relationships (mandatory or voluntary) among subnational governments, and the need for collaboration actors that need to be considered. with other governmental and nongovernmental partners. Table 3.1 maps intergovernmental system institutional Four basic questions are assessed to identify and structures and options and sections 4, 5, and 6 discuss begin to prioritize potential measures: or illustrate selected principles and practices specific to climate change action. 1. Which aspect(s) of climate change action are the main priorities in a particular case? Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 47 4. What factors need to be considered to possible reforms and actors that might be involved operationally define and implement subnational (question 3), as well as to prompt analysts to assess administrative reforms that realistically support the feasibility of reforms or new measures chosen a sustainable climate response? for consideration (question 4). The previous questions identify administrative • Once potentially suitable options are identified, functions that—individually or in some more detailed function-specific diagnostics would be combination—have the potential to alleviate priority needed to make final decisions and design reforms. climate issues. It may be tempting to pursue reform that seems relatively easy to design and adopt, such as Indicative considerations for each of the criteria in climate friendly investment or procurement guidelines. the main columns of table 7.1 include: Such reforms, however, depend on other measures, such as environmental standards and building codes. In 1. Status, Quality, and Performance of Existing addition, political, bureaucratic, and capacity challenges Arrangements may constrain what is feasible. Understanding the extent and severity of such constraints enables analysts to • To what extent is there a legal and operational identify pragmatic initial reforms and sustainable longer- framework for the administrative function(s) term reform trajectories. of interest to deal with the specific problem identified? For example, are there well-defined Table 7.1 provides a simple guide to help determine systems and procedures for land use, building the and strategy for undertaking a particular type codes, and environmental standards? of climate-related administrative reform, as well as the scope of effort that will be needed, once priority • How can support for the development of such needs are identified. It is linked to the four questions frameworks and systems be part of the World outlined above. Bank’s climate and decentralization initiatives? • Climate change priorities in a particular context • Are the framework and operating system (question 1) would be determined by climate experts consistent with the normative principles applied before using this table. in the country context? For example, are land- use and other regulations consistent with sound • The main rows list illustrative types of functions principles and based on specific climate change under the administrative categories reviewed in mitigation and adaptation data and goals? section 5 (question 2). Only some of them will be potentially suitable to dealing with priority climate • Is there any evidence on the performance of the issues in specific contexts. current arrangements? • The main columns list selected criteria to document • How can improving the scope and quality of and assess any measures related to options such mechanisms be incorporated into World identified that are already in place and to identify the Bank support activities? Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 48 Table 7.1. Assessing Subnational Administrative Functions to Support Climate Action 1. Climate Change Priorities 3. Current Functions, 4. Considerations to Assess 2. Administrative Functions with Actors, Reform Areas, Feasibility and Prioritize Potential to Address Climate and Possible New Actions Priorities Measures ASSESSMENT CRITERIA (to inform the process of 1. Status/Quality/Performance 3. Collaboration/ Partnerships 8. Overall Scope for Support 2. Responsibility for Policy/ 6. Complementary Reforms selecting reforms 4. Enforcement Authority and judging feasibility) 7. Feasibility of Reforms Implementation 5. Capacity FUNCTIONS (climate action options) REGULATORY • Zoning and Land Use • Energy Efficiency Standards • Emissions Standards OPERATIONAL • Development Planning • Procurement Which • Budgeting/Public climate Financial Management change actions are DATA the main • Emissions Inventory priorities? • Vulnerability Analysis • Performance COLLABORATIVE GOVERNANCE • Intergovernmental Coordination • Multi-Actor Partnerships • Community Engagement Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 49 2. Responsibility for Policy and Implementation: • How can assisting with the improvement or development of enforcement mechanisms be • Is there clarity on the level of government and actors included in World Bank support? (governmental or nongovernmental) responsible for specific aspects of the function? Is assignment 5. Capacity exclusive or shared? • Does the government entity (or entities) assigned a • Is the official assignment appropriate (based on particular administrative function possess adequate principles and context), or is there a misassignment capacity to meet its/their obligations? (e.g., overly centralized or decentralized, assigned to a weakly accountable entity) or conflicting • If not, do they have access to suitable training assignment (e.g., similar administrative powers opportunities, technical support, and/or other assigned to multiple actors without guidance on actors and resources that can help them to execute boundaries for sharing)? their functions? • How might assisting with the realignment of • How can capacity deficiencies be addressed in World responsibilities and/or the alleviation of ambiguity Bank support through technical assistance and and conflicting assignments be part of World Bank capacity building that institutionalize the requisite support efforts? competence? 3. Collaboration/Partnership Arrangements 6. Complementary Reforms • If multiple actors are involved, are appropriate • Does the administrative reform under consideration principles/mechanisms/procedures in place for depend on other simultaneous or appropriately the actors to work together? For example, if sequenced reforms? For example, climate-friendly environmental regulations or resilient infrastructure environmental and land use regulations depend development involve multiple government levels and/ on enforcement authority and community outreach or nongovernmental actors, is there an appropriate to inform businesses and residents and nurture governance mechanism to ensure productive their buy-in. collaboration? • Is financial support needed to secure compliance • Are the existing arrangements working effectively, with administrative reforms? These may include and have any performance issues been documented? intergovernmental transfers (conditional or performance-based as appropriate) and/or authority • How can World Bank support efforts help to to levy fees and/or to borrow for climate-friendly improve the operation of existing mechanisms or investments (with necessary support to do so, such provide assistance on developing new workable as subsidized interest rates or loan guarantees). arrangements? • How can World Bank support help to promote 4. Enforcement Authority adoption of the interdependent reforms needed to enhance the role of subnational governments in • Is the entity (single or multi-actor) responsible for climate change response? an administrative function sufficiently empowered to enforce regulatory mandates, to oversee procedural • How can the World Bank assist with the prioritizing compliance, to monitor data collection, quality, and and sequencing of appropriate reforms intended to use, or to manage/play its/their role in collaborative make subnational governments stronger players in governance mechanisms under their purview? climate response? • What is known about the effectiveness of any current 7. Feasibility of Reform enforcement arrangements? • How feasible is (are) the desired reform(s) in light of prevailing realities? Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 50 • Beyond capacity considerations covered under (5) In developing reforms, strategic implementation above, are there political, bureaucratic, or other almost invariably merits greater attention. challenges that will need to be considered before Developing carbon reduction targets, for example, potentially sensitive reforms, for example, those requires considering how to attain them—the actors and related to land use or decentralization of a particular processes involved at various stages, the appropriate function, can be pursued? sequence of actions, the time frame over which they can be effectively and sustainably realized—and how to • How can potential obstacles be addressed through monitor progress and make necessary adjustments as World Bank support, either by alleviating them or the action is rolled out. developing options for making progress that do not run into potentially insurmountable (at least in the 7.3 Concluding Observations short and medium term) constraints? 8. Overall Scope for Support This paper reviewed the ways in which subnational governments can use administrative decentralization • Considering the above points collectively as to take climate change action. It did not, however, appropriate can point to how the World Bank might offer the type of specific recommendations that those engage with counterpart governments and specific working in this field might have desired. Generalization actors to support reforms, though broader programs and prescription are elusive due to the various factors may involve multiple World Bank practices and discussed throughout the paper: differential impacts of government actors. climate change; diverse intergovernmental systems with varied levels and combinations of subnational powers; • Some initiatives may be undertaken at the subnational the broad scope of administrative functions and the level if such engagement with appropriate World lack of a unified underlying conceptual framework; the Bank practices and government actors is feasible. intrinsic uncertainty associated with climate change impacts, trajectories, and timelines; the lack of solid These questions and criteria are selective and empirical evidence; and a range of constraints imposed indicative rather than exhaustive or mandatory, as by information gaps, political dynamics, and capacity the intention is to help frame thinking on design deficiencies, among others. interventions that operate at the intersection of administrative decentralization and climate policy. What the paper does offer is a review of key issues Productive negotiation among decentralization and and a basic analytical framework to assist in the climate policy stakeholders will be needed to define a assessment of possible subnational administrative workable approach in a particular case. measures to address climate change. It also makes Administrative Decentralization and Climate Change: Concepts, Experience, and Action 51 the case that subnational governments could play a for example, in which subnational governments agree stronger role in climate change action, both generally to certain actions and partnerships benchmarked by and with respect to administrative functions. There have performance standards, could provide a foundation been efforts to engage subnational governments, and on which to build progressively stronger efforts as many have taken independent actions, including a range subnational experience grows and subnational capacity of experiments and partnerships. Sound assessment, improves. Such asymmetric processes tailor expectations appropriate modification, and judicious adaptation and and actions to particular situations but can still be tied to expansion of these efforts can be part of a broader country commitments under the Paris Agreement. intergovernmental effort to respond to climate change in a collaborative and integrated way that creates Considerably more work is needed to advance opportunities for the productive rebalancing of roles assessments of the role of subnational administrative and relations between national and subnational actors. functions in addressing climate change and specific Such an approach can create momentum for reform reform options in particular countries. There is much to and potentially support the pursuit of progressively gain by pursuing this agenda, but the territory is extensive more ambitious local, national, and global climate goals and diverse and there is no universally applicable set over time. of procedures or policies for how to proceed. Making further progress with the World Bank’s agenda requires A related consideration is that national governments the Governance Practice to determine its priorities and and development partners can nurture adoption of consider how it can best work with other practices that proven means of subnational climate action with are already taking the lead or working on climate change dedicated support and incentives, an approach response. Once such decisions are made, more specific the World Bank already uses in many ways. 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