IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ieaple/v17y2017i2d10.1007_s10784-016-9318-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cities to the rescue? Assessing the performance of transnational municipal networks in global climate governance

Author

Listed:
  • Jennifer S. Bansard

    (University of Potsdam)

  • Philipp H. Pattberg

    (VU University Amsterdam)

  • Oscar Widerberg

    (VU University Amsterdam)

Abstract

Despite the proliferation and promise of subnational climate initiatives, the institutional architecture of transnational municipal networks (TMNs) is not well understood. With a view to close this research gap, the article empirically assesses the assumption that TMNs are a viable substitute for ambitious international action under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It addresses the aggregate phenomenon in terms of geographical distribution, central players, mitigation ambition and monitoring provisions. Examining thirteen networks, it finds that membership in TMNs is skewed toward Europe and North America while countries from the Global South are underrepresented; that only a minority of networks commit to quantified emission reductions and that these are not more ambitious than Parties to the UNFCCC; and finally that the monitoring provisions are fairly limited. In sum, the article shows that transnational municipal networks are not (yet) the representative, ambitious and transparent player they are thought to be.

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer S. Bansard & Philipp H. Pattberg & Oscar Widerberg, 2017. "Cities to the rescue? Assessing the performance of transnational municipal networks in global climate governance," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 229-246, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:ieaple:v:17:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s10784-016-9318-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10784-016-9318-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10784-016-9318-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10784-016-9318-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jan Corfee-Morlot & Lamia Kamal-Chaoui & Michael G. Donovan & Ian Cochran & Alexis Robert & Pierre-Jonathan Teasdale, 2009. "Cities, Climate Change and Multilevel Governance," OECD Environment Working Papers 14, OECD Publishing.
    2. Kornelis Blok & Niklas Höhne & Kees van der Leun & Nicholas Harrison, 2012. "Bridging the greenhouse-gas emissions gap," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 2(7), pages 471-474, July.
    3. Lamia Kamal-Chaoui & Alexis Robert, 2009. "Competitive Cities and Climate Change," OECD Regional Development Working Papers 2009/2, OECD Publishing.
    4. Oscar Widerberg & Philipp Pattberg, 2015. "International Cooperative Initiatives in Global Climate Governance: Raising the Ambition Level or Delegitimizing the UNFCCC?," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 6(1), pages 45-56, February.
    5. repec:bla:jcmkts:v:47:y:2009:i::p:309-332 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Taedong Lee, 2013. "Global Cities and Transnational Climate Change Networks," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 13(1), pages 108-127, February.
    7. Elinor Ostrom, 2014. "A Polycentric Approach For Coping With Climate Change," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 15(1), pages 97-134, May.
    8. Taedong Lee & Susan Meene, 2012. "Who teaches and who learns? Policy learning through the C40 cities climate network," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 45(3), pages 199-220, September.
    9. Carolyn Kousky & Stephen H. Schneider, 2003. "Global climate policy: will cities lead the way?," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(4), pages 359-372, December.
    10. Kristine Kern & Harriet Bulkeley, 2009. "Cities, Europeanization and Multi‐level Governance: Governing Climate Change through Transnational Municipal Networks," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(2), pages 309-332, March.
    11. Comodi, Gabriele & Cioccolanti, Luca & Polonara, Fabio & Brandoni, Caterina, 2012. "Local authorities in the context of energy and climate policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 737-748.
    12. Rachel M. Krause, 2012. "An Assessment of the Impact that Participation in Local Climate Networks Has on Cities’ Implementation of Climate, Energy, and Transportation Policies," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 29(5), pages 585-604, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Taedong Lee & Chris Koski, 2015. "Multilevel governance and urban climate change mitigation," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 33(6), pages 1501-1517, December.
    2. Azevedo, Isabel & Delarue, Erik & Meeus, Leonardo, 2013. "Mobilizing cities towards a low-carbon future: Tambourines, carrots and sticks," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 894-900.
    3. Kaveh Rashidi & Anthony Patt, 2018. "Subsistence over symbolism: the role of transnational municipal networks on cities’ climate policy innovation and adoption," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 507-523, April.
    4. Michael Mintrom & Joannah Luetjens, 2017. "Policy entrepreneurs and problem framing: The case of climate change," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(8), pages 1362-1377, December.
    5. Neslihan Kulozu Uzunboy, 2020. "Effect of transnational climate networks on climate experiments: the Nilüfer Municipality, a case from Turkey," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 3005-3031, April.
    6. Shorna B. Allred & Allison M. Chatrchyan & Giorgi Tsintsadze, 2022. "Local municipal capacity for climate change action in New York State: Exploring the urban–rural divide," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 39(5), pages 570-601, September.
    7. Adrien Labaeye & Thomas Sauer, 2013. "City Networks and the Socio-ecological Transition – A European Inventory. WWWforEurope Working Paper No. 27," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 46888, August.
    8. Ana Gonzalez & Christof Brandtner, 2024. "Green in their own way: Pragmatic and progressive means for cities to overcome institutional barriers to sustainability," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(13), pages 2513-2530, October.
    9. Anmol Soni & Justina Jose & Gordon A. Kingsley, 2023. "When cities take control: Explaining the diversity of complex local climate actions," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 40(6), pages 1026-1057, November.
    10. Antje Otto & Kristine Kern & Wolfgang Haupt & Peter Eckersley & Annegret H. Thieken, 2021. "Ranking local climate policy: assessing the mitigation and adaptation activities of 104 German cities," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 1-23, July.
    11. Winfried Osthorst, 2020. "Tensions in Urban Transitions. Conceptualizing Conflicts in Local Climate Policy Arrangements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-17, December.
    12. Michele Acuto & Benjamin Leffel, 2021. "Understanding the global ecosystem of city networks," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(9), pages 1758-1774, July.
    13. David J. Gordon, 2016. "Lament for a network? Cities and networked climate governance in Canada," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(3), pages 529-545, May.
    14. Azevedo, Isabel & Horta, Isabel & Leal, Vítor M.S., 2017. "Analysis of the relationship between local climate change mitigation actions and greenhouse gas emissions – Empirical insights," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 204-213.
    15. Laura Silvia Valente Macedo & Pedro Roberto Jacobi, 2019. "Subnational politics of the urban age: evidence from Brazil on integrating global climate goals in the municipal agenda," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-15, December.
    16. Sander Chan & Wanja Amling, 2019. "Does orchestration in the Global Climate Action Agenda effectively prioritize and mobilize transnational climate adaptation action?," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 429-446, October.
    17. Sander Chan & Thomas Hale & Andrew Deneault & Manish Shrivastava & Kennedy Mbeva & Victoria Chengo & Joanes Atela, 2022. "Assessing the effectiveness of orchestrated climate action from five years of summits," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 12(7), pages 628-633, July.
    18. Pamela Robinson & Christopher Gore, 2015. "Municipal climate reporting: gaps in monitoring and implications for governance and action," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 33(5), pages 1058-1075, October.
    19. Anne Bach Nielsen & Marielle Papin, 2021. "The hybrid governance of environmental transnational municipal networks: Lessons from 100 Resilient Cities," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 39(4), pages 667-685, June.
    20. Marielle Papin, 2019. "Transnational municipal networks: Harbingers of innovation for global adaptation governance?," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 467-483, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:ieaple:v:17:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s10784-016-9318-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.