Galvanising the public sector into action

Can governments be trusted to ensure the public sector acts responsibly by doing all it can to reduce CO2 emissions? What should we be expecting governments to do in this regard? Is the public sector willing to do anything or will it simply pass on higher operating costs to end-users - you and me?

The public sector and most of its many publicly owned businesses are monopolistic in character. They are not renowned for being either efficient or keenly competitive. They can and do pass on higher operating costs to their customers rather than explore and adopt ways of reducing overheads, such as energy costs.

There are a number of ways in which the public sector can - and sometimes does - act to reduce CO2 pollution and operating costs. The fact that governments refuse to tell the public what they are doing to achieve these outcomes is not conclusive evidence that they are doing little or nothing, but it is a pretty good indicator that this may be the case.