Question Eight: The Private Sector How can national-level governments learn from the private sector and encourage investment and decision making to promote the public good in a changing climate?

This briefing from the World Resources Institute explores the potential for national governments to partner with the private sector to enhance climate adaptation efforts, leveraging corporate risk management expertise and investment capacity to promote the public good.

• The private sector is viewed as a prospective partner for governments, development agencies, and civil society because it can increase creativity, innovation, and investment capacity, thereby multiplying the impact of their efforts.
• Public sector decision-making for climate adaptation may benefit from corporate practices in managing risk and uncertainty, specifically tools used to handle market instabilities such as exchange rate fluctuations and volatile fossil fuel prices.
• Private sector contributions to adaptation occur through bidding on government infrastructure projects, integrating climate risks into internal planning to protect global markets (particularly those dependent on ecosystem services like water supplies), and aligning growth strategies with adaptation priorities.
• The impact of corporate responses to climate change is uncertain; while they may strengthen vulnerable communities, they could also ignore adaptation needs or invest in ways that run counter to the public good, necessitating government efforts to facilitate 'positive' adaptation.

APA

World Resources Institute (2010). Question Eight: The Private Sector How can national-level governments learn from the private sector and encourage investment and decision making to promote the public good in a changing climate? https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-8.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Question Eight: The Private Sector How can national-level governments learn from the private sector and encourage investment and decision making to promote the public good in a changing climate? 2010. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-8.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Question Eight: The Private Sector How can national-level governments learn from the private sector and encourage investment and decision making to promote the public good in a changing climate? |date=2010 |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-8.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2010question, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Question Eight: The Private Sector How can national-level governments learn from the private sector and encourage investment and decision making to promote the public good in a changing climate?}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2010}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-8.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }