Developing a public-private carbon management program
The Chilean national carbon management programme (PNGC, due to its name in Spanish) is a government led initiative seeking to integrate public and private efforts for the reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and local mitigation actions. It functions as a tool for public and private entities aiming to measure GHG emissions, monitor carbon footprints and identify mitigation opportunities. The initiative is led by the Climate Change Office at the Ministry of Environment and has taken a collaborative approach considering both public and private interests from the outset.
Although still in the early stages of implementation, it demonstrates a number of good practices including: (i) collaboration between strategic partners and a participative approach to involving public and private sectors; (ii) linking the carbon management programme with existing public policy instruments; and (iii) effective incentives for engaging participants.
The case also highlights a number of barriers and challenges including: (i) lack of stakeholder knowledge on climate issues; (ii) lack of secure funding for the programme and a well-defined work plan which discourages private sector involvement; (iii) the need for effective incentives to motivate participants to engage in what is a voluntary programme; (iv) the need to ensure quality and traceability of the information managed by the PNGC. The mentioned barriers have been clearly identified by the authority and are being addressed.
The PNGC is a ground-breaking initiative in Chile in terms of its collaboration with the private sector, and is anticipated to build momentum for sectors to quantify GHG emissions and mitigate at the corporate level.
- Collaboration between government and private sector: From a policy making process perspective, the PNGC sets a precedent in the country due to the way that the government has worked collaboratively with the private sector.
- Capacity building: If the initiative is successfully implemented, it shall contribute, among other factors, to the generation of momentum required to prepare the actors in the economy for the transition towards low-carbon development.
- Improved GHG emissions management: The activities of the PNGC aim to support and encourage GHG quantification and management at the corporate level, in both the public and private domains, enabling the environment for the promotion of mitigation efforts and the neutralisation of emissions among the various economic actors.
- Basis for future national MRV system: The initiative provides an important corner stone for developing a unified national MRV system.
- Ministry of Environment (Climate Change Office)
- UNDP LECB programme
- Various public and private sector strategic partners