Governance Innovations for Sustainable Development: Building Public-Private Partnerships in India

Environmental externalities from rapid growth, such as air and water pollution, arise from a joint failure of government and industry to create an economy where the most profitable action is also best socially. Can appropriately designed public-private partnerships promote sustainable development in India? The Initiative uses rigorous field studies, conducted in association with Indian regulators and industry partners, to examine how public-private partnerships can enable smart policy design and raise efficiency and compliance with environmental standards. Members of this initiative conduct field trials of innovative environmental policies with the goal of providing rigorous evidence on the effectiveness of these policies. For instance, recently completed work identifies improvements to third party environmental audit mechanisms and in ongoing work we examine how market-based emissions trading system, developed in partnership with India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests and regulatory bodies, can lower abatement costs and air pollutant emissions. This initiative continues the work of the Governance Innovations for Sustainable Development Initiative under Phase II of the Sustainability Science Program, but now moves forward with a targeted focus on India.

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