Advancing the Role of Cities in Climate Governance: Promise, Limits, Politics
Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Forthcoming
8 Pages Posted: 31 Mar 2020
Date Written: 2019
Abstract
Over the last two decades, a burgeoning literature has emerged on the role of cities in climate governance. This literature has identified compelling possibilities for innovative urban climate governance through experimentation and novel forms of agency at the city level, which hold promise for advancing global climate governance, despite political stagnation at national and international levels (Betsill & Bulkeley, 2006; Bulkeley & Betsill, 2013; Bulkeley, Castan Broto, & Edwards, 2015; B. Evans, Joas, Sundback, & Thobald, 2006; Hoffmann, 2011; Van der Heijden, 2014). Yet, despite the widespread hope being invested in cities as agents and sites of change in addressing global climate change, there remains a worrying lack of robust evidence for their effectiveness and ability to fulfil this role (Bansard, Pattberg, & Widerberg, 2016; Bulkeley et al., 2014; Van der Heijden, 2017). What is urgently required is a critical reflection on the role of cities in climate governance. Such reflection is important for understanding how the potential of cities as agents of change in global climate governance can be more fully realized. This is the aim of a special issue introduced by the current article: to critically reflect on the notion of cities as agents of change for global sustainability problems.
Keywords: Urban Climate Governance, Cities and Climate Change
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation