Local Level Complexities in Governance of Climate Change Mitigation Practices and Adaptation Measures in U. S. Cities

Abstract

While global negotiations regarding climate change between nations are underway around the world, locally scaled policies and measures for climate protection and resilience are drafted and implemented by municipalities across the globe. These political units, with their small contributions to the much larger issue at hand are unable to fully receive adequate gains of their policies for their local stakeholders, as theory states that local level administrators would find it difficult to reduce emissions for the benefit of the global citizenry. In other words, municipalities are concerned with the provision of locally-based public goods and services. For climate policies however, they are locally producing a global public good. On the other hand, local level leaders have an advantage as they control many of the factors related to emissions, such as land use decisions, residential and commercial regulations, transit options and solid waste disposal. This is perhaps fitting due to the nature of the place-based vulnerability where impacts are experienced in the forms of inundation, heat waves, bushfires or rising sea levels. Additionally, due to their structure, it is comparatively easier to implementing such policies successfully than many international policy makers who have struggled with such goals or milestones due to added complications. This essay will explore the rudimentary complexities at the city level and observe the paradox of participation and engagement in sustainable addressing global climate change.