Shaping local response – The influence of transnational municipal climate networks on urban climate governance

Busch, Henner; Bendlin, Lena; Fenton, Paul

doi:10.1016/j.uclim.2018.03.004

Cited by 53 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Empirical analysis of key TMNs in climate change has also focused on their representativeness and effectiveness, showing an overrepresentation of European and North American countries, a lack of firm commitments from the cities that participated, and limited monitoring of results (Bansard, Pattberg, and Widerberg 2017). In terms of activities, a recent study of climate change networks shows that network membership enables local mobilization, helps formulate emission reduction goals, institutionalizes climate trajectories, enables direct exchange, and leads to project support, all influencing local climate governance and thus engaging in city diplomacy (Busch, Bendlin, and Fenton 2018; Acuto et al 2018). Given the fact that both climate change and migration are issues of global concern that call for global cooperation and local action, these findings on the membership and focus of climate networks lead to the question of whether TMNs in the field of migration hold similar characteristics and perform similar functions.…”

Section: The Dynamics Of Decouplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decoupling and Teaming up: The Rise and Proliferation of Transnational Municipal Networks in the Field of Migration

Oomen

2019

International Migration Review

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Cities claim an ever-larger role in migration governance, often by means of progressive policies that “decouple” the local from the national. The literature on this “local turn” has generally failed to recognize how this decoupling increasingly takes place within the context of Transnational Municipal Networks (TMNs). On the basis of a database of the 20 most important TMNs in refugee and migrant welcome and integration in Europe and additional empirical research, this article identifies and analyzes their main characteristics, composition, and activities in a multiscalar context, thus contributing to a better understanding of migration governance. It argues that these networks, by means of a wide variety of activities, serve a practical but also a symbolic and jurisgenerative purpose. These implicit and explicit objectives of city networking also account for the proliferation of TMNs witnessed across Europe since 2015. In “teaming up,” European cities not only share practical experiences but also develop narratives about migration that counter national, more restrictive discourses and contribute to the global legal framework, as was the case with the Global Compact on Refugees and Migrants. It is this practical, symbolic, and jurisgenerative role of TMNs, in times of increasingly restrictive national policies, that makes these networks key actors in contesting but also improving global migration governance.

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Section: The Dynamics Of Decouplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decoupling and Teaming up: The Rise and Proliferation of Transnational Municipal Networks in the Field of Migration

Oomen

2019

International Migration Review

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“…However, the level and depth of this change is difficult to assess, since practical actions occur at the individual city level, and the networking activities focus on knowledge sharing and the exchange of good practices. A similar situation was observed regarding past mitigation activities (e.g., Kern and Bulkeley, 2009;Busch et al, 2018), and yet the networks of cities are considered rather efficient in mitigating climate change (Castán Broto and Bulkeley, 2013). Therefore, it is likely that the effect of the scale that worked for the mitigation issues (Acuto, 2013;Lin, 2018) can also support the adaptation measures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

“…Actions undertaken by city authorities should be carried out in two ways: as an adaptation to climate change, and in the form of mitigation (Shi et al, 2016). Implementation of mitigation and adaptation actions is a process that requires the involvement of many actors and institutions on a local, regional, national, and international level (Dupuis and Biesbroek, 2013;Busch et al, 2018;Donatti et al, 2020;Kotynska-Zielinska et al, 2020). Cities undertake actions individually and/or collectively, in cooperation with central administrations, regional authorities, the private sector, and other cities [both nationally and internationally] (Woodruff and Stults, 2016;Heikkinen et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transnational Municipal Networks as a Mechanism for Marine Governance Toward Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation: Between Potential and Practice

et al. 2021

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Many municipalities undertake actions individually and/or collectively, in cooperation with central administrations, regional authorities, the private sector, and other municipalities (both nationally and internationally). This paper aims to examine how they use transnational municipal networks (TMNs) as a tool for cooperation that supports marine governance in the context of climate change adaptation and mitigation. The analysis is carried out at two dimensions: spatial range (global or regional) and spatial identity (coastal or inland). Three case studies of TMNs are examined in detail: the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40); Connecting Delta Cities (CDC) and the Union of Baltic Cities (UBC). As research has shown, due to their organizational and normative limitations and a lack of maturity in ocean literacy, TMNs are not able to fully engage in all the activities related to climate change adaptation and mitigation as suggested by the UNEP. The TMNs implement both mitigation and adaptation measures, although ‘soft’ mitigation actions seem to be the most common. While the scale and innovativeness of a networks’ operation are determined by their specificity resulting from their spatial identity, the effectiveness of jointly developed strategies and actions depend heavily on the allocation of human resources and the level of commitment of the involved cities toward becoming leaders.

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“…For example, a third party can monitor the performance of a voluntary programme (increased requirement) while at the same time improve the programme's reputation by providing independent monitoring (increased benefit). City networks are thus advised to look at third parties not only as a means of providing benefits to their voluntary programmes but also as 'guardians' of them (Busch et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trading off benefits and requirements: How do city networks attract cities to their voluntary environmental programmes?

Berrueta

Heijden

2021

Env Pol Gov

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Voluntary programmes provide city networks with a central link to their city members. These voluntary programmes provide cities with benefits (e.g., knowledge, recognition, access to resources) if they meet the city network's programme requirements. This article seeks to understand how city networks make trade-offs between programme benefits and requirements to attract cities to the programmes they offer. We do so by analysing 55 voluntary programmes offered by 22 climaterelated city networks using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). We are particularly interested in the design of voluntary programmes that attract large numbers of participants. We find three main insights. First, programmes with a clear, single benefit are more attractive to city members than programmes with a broad range of benefits. Second, the combination of programme requirements and commitments allows city networks to target cohorts of cities based on their capacities and needs. Finally, cities are attracted to programmes that do not explicitly ask for direct results.

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Shaping local response – The influence of transnational municipal climate networks on urban climate governance

Cited by 53 publications

References 16 publications

Decoupling and Teaming up: The Rise and Proliferation of Transnational Municipal Networks in the Field of Migration

Decoupling and Teaming up: The Rise and Proliferation of Transnational Municipal Networks in the Field of Migration

Transnational Municipal Networks as a Mechanism for Marine Governance Toward Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation: Between Potential and Practice

Trading off benefits and requirements: How do city networks attract cities to their voluntary environmental programmes?

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