Tackling climate change on the local level: A growing research agenda

Abstract

Tackling climate change on the local level: A growing research agendaClimate change, as one of the most pressing problems of our time, affects different levels of governance. At the international level, countries negotiate to find common ground on various topics related to climate change, but most importantly on how to share the burden of mitigating global warming and its effects on humankind. At the national level, national governments formulate greenhouse gas reduction (GHG) targets, set out climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, and formulate respective framework policies. But when it comes to the implementation of these targets, strategies, or policies, the protagonists are most often local governments or administrations. This is particularly the case for adaption measures, but also in the traffic, energy, or building sector, i.e., such sectors that concern infrastructural matters. In these areas, local communities have a high problem-solving capacity due to local knowledge and experience and should therefore engage actively in climate protection or adaptation endeavors (Domorenok & Zito, 2021;van der Heijden, 2021).This special issue on "Local Climate Governance" brings together 11 research teams that engage with a wide diversity of topics related to local climate policy, as well as different theoretical and methodological approaches. In this editorial, we summarize the most important findings of this special issue, link it to the most recent research on local climate policy, and make some suggestions for further research.

Perception and performance in environmental policy

“…In the second half of the year 2023, the Review of Policy Research (RPR) presented three special issues in a row. These issues focused on policy process research in China (Yang & Yi, 2023), the politics and policy of artificial intelligence (Ulnicane & Erkkilä, 2023), and climate policies on the local level (Nagel & Kammerer, 2023). We would like to thank the guest editors and authors for their contributions to establish RPR as a leading interdisciplinary and international platform for policy process research with systematic links to the theoretical debates of our community.…”

Towards a Refined Climate Urbanism Typology: Comparing Local Policy Debates in German and American cities

“…Cities are susceptible to climate change impacts like rising sea levels, flooding, drought, and excessive heat, and will need to protect infrastructure, institutions, and populations. On the one hand, these conditions dramatically change the governance of urban areas, and on the other hand, urban governance steers these processes for sustainable development 7 .…”