Act Locally, Affect Globally: How the Structure of Local Government Makes it the Best Arena for Engagement and Work with the Private Sector to Control Environmental Harms

Abstract:     
There has been comparatively little exploration of the importance of local government in addressing large scale environmental harms, in spite of much activity at the local level dealing with climate change. This article posits that local governments may be an effective way to address even large scale environmental harms because they may be able to exercise a kind of control through targeted social norm creation that cannot be accomplished easily at other levels of government. This article notes that efforts to get the private sector to take actions without enforcement capability have been problematic, but that connections to private sector decision makers and influencing of their internal norms (which can occur easily at the local level) can create action not just locally, but wherever corporations operate.

Keywords: environment, climate, climate change, federalism, private sector, corporations, multi-national corporations, local government, social norms, norm creation, public/private partnership, mayors, environmental law, corporate culture, advertising, personal reputation

JEL Classifications: K32, K40, K42, L14, L21, M14, D21, D23, D71, H11

Working Paper Series