Across Europe, local and regional authorities with limited statutory resources face a diverse range of challenges. A major concern is the need to address complex, trans-boundary issues such as climate change and the pursuit of sustainable development. Cooperation over administrative boundaries may be essential to ensure a transition towards local and regional transportation systems that have reduced climate impacts and support broader sustainability objectives. This paper fills a gap in the literature by illustrating how local and regional authorities use project funding to support initiatives to mitigate climate change, with a particular focus on the role of mobility and transport. Transport accounts for around 25% of greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union (EU)-almost 73% is caused by road transport, which is also the main cause of air pollution in urban areas (EU, 2017). ABSTRACT this paper explores efforts to coordinate strategies promoting sustainable development-with specific focus on mobility and transport in climate change mitigation-across administrative boundaries in the city and county of göttingen, germany. the paper questions the possibility to develop and align strategic objectives and implementation across administrative boundaries when relying on short-term project funds. the experiences of key stakeholders in göttingen are presented, with reference to empirical data from a document and interview study. Results indicate that reliance on short-term, project-based funding from external sources offers both opportunities and challenges for locally and regionally integrated strategy formulation and implementation. Five factors shaping the strategy space of actors are used to frame the analysis, with findings suggesting the need for further research on how local authorities overcome capacity and resource limitations, particularly with respect to complex challenges such as climate change.

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