Assessing low-carbon strategies of local governments through the lens of climate policy coverage

The paper presents the City Climate Policy Assessment Framework, which evaluates city-level climate policies across seven sectors: community-wide initiatives, building policy, transportation policy, energy and water utilities, waste management, local government operations, and green finance. Based on an analysis of 12 cities in China and abroad, the study finds that while cities often excel in government operations and utilities, gaps persist in transportation, building policies, and community initiatives. It highlights that many cities set goals more ambitious than national standards and recommends improving data transparency and strengthening financial instruments like tax incentives and climate investment funds to address funding gaps.

• The City Climate Policy Assessment Framework evaluates climate policies across seven specific areas: community-wide initiatives, building policy, transportation policy, energy and water utilities, waste management, local government operations, and green finance.
• Analysis of the sample cities reveals that while policies regarding energy and water utilities and local government operations are comprehensive, there are notable deficiencies in transportation policy, building policy, and community-wide initiatives.
• Many cities act as climate leaders by establishing standards, codes, and goals that exceed the requirements set by national and provincial policies.
• To accelerate sustainable urban development, cities must address funding gaps by enhancing financial instruments, including climate investment funds, tax incentives, and subsidies.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Assessing low-carbon strategies of local governments through the lens of climate policy coverage. https://www.wri.org/research/assessing-low-carbon-strategies-local-governments-through-lens-climate-policy-coverage

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Assessing low-carbon strategies of local governments through the lens of climate policy coverage. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/assessing-low-carbon-strategies-local-governments-through-lens-climate-policy-coverage.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Assessing low-carbon strategies of local governments through the lens of climate policy coverage |url=https://www.wri.org/research/assessing-low-carbon-strategies-local-governments-through-lens-climate-policy-coverage |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendassessing, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Assessing low-carbon strategies of local governments through the lens of climate policy coverage}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/assessing-low-carbon-strategies-local-governments-through-lens-climate-policy-coverage}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }