绿色公共工程：利用公共工程应对气候和环境挑战

NOVEMBER 2025|NO. 26-03 Green Public Works Leveraging Public Worksto Address Climate andEnvironmental Challenges HIGHLIGHT As climate and environmental chal-lenges increasingly threaten liveli-hoods worldwide, some countriesare turning to public works pro-grams(PWPs)to confront them.This has given rise to “green publicworks”—PWPs that combine socialassistance with environmental andclimateobjectives,such as pro-tecting ecosystems and strength-eninghousehold and communityresilience. Drawing on a review oftwelve green PWPs, this note out-lines their innovative features, in-cluding new types of assets andactivities such as water infrastruc-ture upgrades, protection againstnaturaldisasters and ecosystemsrestoration. It concludes by high-lighting the benefits and challeng-esof green PWPs and ways toaddress them.Public Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure Authorized Cecilia Costella, Yuko Okamura, EmilioUrteaga, and Nada Shalashi KEY MESSAGES •Green PWPs can address environmen-tal,climate,and socioeconomic chal-lenges at once and at scale.They canprovide a safety net while advancing climateandenvironmental objectives,generatingenvironmental gains, and supporting greentransitions. balance social assistance goals with the cre-ationof sustainable assets.Limited datacanhamper effective targeting of thosemost vulnerable to environmental and cli-mate risks. New types of assets also requiretechnical expertise in fields such as naturalresourcemanagement and engineering,which may not always be readily available. •Green PWPs can enhance the resilienceof households and communities.Theysupport adaptation by improving infrastruc-ture, boosting agricultural productivity anddiversifying livelihoods, and mitigation byrestoring ecosystems and protecting againstenvironmental degradation. •Strong cooperation is essential for suc-cess.Effective green PWPs rely on coordi-nated action across government levels andsectors, and with local communities andtechnical partners. Cooperation is key forpolicy alignment, subsequent programming,and during implementation. •The impact of green PWPs can endureand extend beyond program participants.The forests, waterways, and ecosystems theyrestore or create serve as durable public goodsthat provide lasting and broad-based benefits. •More evidence is needed to improvefutureprogramming.Robust evalua-tion of impact and cost-effectiveness canstrengthen future design and implementa-tion of green PWPs, but remain underdevel-oped and scarce at present. •Designing and implementing greenPWPs can be challenging.Programs must Green Public Works Can Protect the Planet and Build Resilience Climatechange and environmental degrada-tion are among today’s key global challenges,increasing the urgency to strengthen the resil-ience of households, communities, and ecosys-tems.Their impacts on people and ecosystems arecertain to grow, underscoring the need for ambitiousand coordinated mitigation and adaptation strategies.Robust policy solutions and practical approaches areessential for effectively managing climate and environ‑mental challenges in the long term yet remain scarce or inadequate.1Existing climate adaptation and mitigationefforts struggle to attain the necessary scale to addressthe rising risks.2 Public works programs (PWPs) can address socio-economic, climate, and environmental challengesat once.3Typically, conventional PWPs focus on imme‑diate poverty reduction by providing jobs and income, whilecreating public goods that deliver longer‑term benefits.When they include activities that develop nature‑based or physical infrastructure—such as reforestation or water‑ways restoration—PWPs can generate both social andenvironmental outcomes that enhance climate resilience.However, despite their potential, these approaches—oftenreferred to as “green public works”—remain underuti‑lized, and there is still limited understanding of the factorsthat determine their success in addressing climate andenvironmental challenges.4 economic activities—such as agriculture, forestry andfisheries—reducing the stress on the environment. GreenPWPs can also offer complementary training that raisesawareness of climate change and disaster preparedness.These new skills can enable participants to transition togreen sectors or establish green businesses, focused onpreserving or restoring the environment and supportingclimate‑change adaptation and mitigation. Finally, greenPWPs generate assets that can deliver positive climateand environmental outcomes. They include activities thatpreserve or restore ecosystems, establish disaster‑resilientinfrastructure, and support climate‑resilient livelihoods.Typical assets include (a) environmental assets such asexpanded forests and improved soil, (b) public infrastruc‑ture such as waterways, irrigation, and small dams, (c)risk reduction measures, such as riverbanks and terracing,and (d) agricultural assets, such as new drought‑resistantcrops. These assets