What this lesson teaches
I can explain the roles of firms, NGOs and states in responding to climate change and how they work together.
Syllabus 8834, Topic 1.2, 3. Responses to Climate Change. Who are the key actors involved in climate change response?
Make a guess
An NGO wants a factory to cut its emissions. Can the NGO order the factory to do it?
- Yes, because NGOs control climate policy.
- No. Only the state can make binding rules.
- Yes, if the NGO is large enough.
- No, because firms never change their behaviour.
Show the answer
No. Only the state can make binding rules.
NGOs research, campaign and work with communities, but they cannot pass laws. States set rules; firms decide what to invest in.
States set the rules, firms bring investment and expertise, and NGOs link knowledge with communities, and they work best together with clear accountability.
States are governments that rule a territory. They can set emission rules, carbon prices and building standards. They fund infrastructure and negotiate international deals. Politics, enforcement and competing interests limit how far they act. They can also provide social protection and coordinate across sectors.
Firms decide what to invest in and produce. They can develop cleaner technology, finance projects and provide engineering skills. Profit can drive innovation. But short-term thinking, misleading green claims and polluting assets can slow progress.
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are groups independent of government. They research impacts, campaign for accountability, share local knowledge and run community projects. They often build trust with groups left out of official planning. Their reach depends on funding, expertise, legitimacy and how well they represent different community views.
Partnerships combine strengths. A state provides rules and funding, a firm designs infrastructure, and an NGO organises local participation. Communities should help make decisions. Communities hold knowledge and rights; they are not just recipients of a design.
Partners do not always have equal power. Be clear who pays, who decides, who maintains the project and who can challenge it. Clear targets, independent evidence and fair participation help stop a public benefit becoming a narrow private gain.
- States
- Make rules, fund projects and negotiate deals.
- Firms
- Invest, innovate and provide expertise.
- NGOs
- Research, campaign and work with communities.
Step by step
Assign the role
What power, money or knowledge does each actor bring?
Explain the link
Why is another actor needed to act?
Check accountability
Who is responsible, and do communities have a voice?
Real examples to use
Paris Agreement, 2015
Countries set their own targets, called Nationally Determined Contributions, and review them every five years.
Loss and damage fund, 2023
At COP28 in Dubai, countries agreed to launch a fund to help vulnerable countries recover from climate disasters.
State: Germany's Energiewende
Germany's 'energy transition' uses laws and guaranteed payments to grow wind and solar power. Renewables made about 52.5% of its electricity in 2023 and about 54% in 2024 (UBA). Germany closed its last nuclear plants in April 2023 and plans to end coal power by 2038, so for some years it still burns coal and gas.
Firm: Orsted, Denmark
DONG Energy, a Danish oil, gas and coal firm mostly owned by the state, sold its oil and gas business in 2017 and renamed itself Orsted. It now mainly builds offshore wind farms. By 2017 it had cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 52% from 2006. But in 2023 it cancelled two large wind farms off New Jersey, USA, as costs rose, showing firms depend on profits.
State that steps back: the USA and Paris
The USA left the Paris Agreement in November 2020, rejoined in February 2021, and in January 2025 announced it would leave again. A change of government can reverse a state's climate policy, so firms, cities and NGOs often keep acting when their national government does not.
Worked example: Building with Nature in Demak
From 2015 to 2021, the Demak project in Indonesia linked government ministries, Wetlands International, Ecoshape, engineers including Witteveen+Bos, and local communities. Permeable fences trapped mud so mangroves could regrow. It shows how different roles fit together. Results still depend on local conditions such as sinking land.
Watch out for this
NGOs can order companies to cut emissions.
NGOs lack legal power. They influence through evidence, campaigns and partnerships.
Check your understanding
Why is a partnership useful for climate action?
- More partners' logos on a plan guarantee lower emissions.
- Partners share the same priorities, so they agree quickly.
- Rules, engineering skill and community trust meet different needs.
Show the answer
Rules, engineering skill and community trust meet different needs.
Yes. Each partner fills a gap.