Powers and capacities of state and regional governments

The research finds that while state and regional governments possess significant hard powers—particularly in federal systems and within the agriculture, buildings, and transport sectors—their ability to act is primarily hindered by a lack of human capacity, followed by financial and informational constraints.

• State and regional governments possess substantial financial and regulatory 'hard powers', especially in decentralised or federal countries. These powers are most prominent in the transport, buildings, and agriculture sectors, enabling regions to pursue climate action independently or alongside national governments.
• Regions lacking hard powers can still impact climate action via 'soft powers' like agenda setting, though this effectiveness decreases when there is a lack of political alignment between regional and national governments. While climate change is a high priority in many surveyed regions and linked to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is lower on the agenda in developing countries due to competing priorities like security, health, and poverty.
• The primary obstacle to further climate action for states and regions is human capacity within government agencies and ministries, followed by a lack of financing and information.

APA

NewClimate Institute (2023). Powers and capacities of state and regional governments. http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/powers-and-capacities-of-state-and-regional-governments

Chicago

NewClimate Institute. Powers and capacities of state and regional governments. 2023. http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/powers-and-capacities-of-state-and-regional-governments.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=NewClimate Institute |title=Powers and capacities of state and regional governments |date=11 July 2023 |url=http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/powers-and-capacities-of-state-and-regional-governments |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{newclimateinstitute2023powers, author = {{NewClimate Institute}}, title = {{Powers and capacities of state and regional governments}}, institution = {NewClimate Institute}, year = {2023}, month = jul, url = {http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/powers-and-capacities-of-state-and-regional-governments}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }