In the absence of federal requirements, how do state-and municipal-level characteristics impact the probability of local policy innovation? This article provides insight by examining the adoption of sub-national climate change mitigation initiatives in the United States. Drawing from literature on policy innovation, a multilevel model is developed to examine the factors influencing over 900 U.S. cities to eschew free-rider tendencies and formally commit to greenhouse gas reduction. Multilevel analysis recognizes the nested structure of cities within states and accounts for the shared economic, political, and policy environments experienced by cities within the same state. The level of initiative state governments have taken toward climate protection varies considerably, and the influence of different state policies on related local decisions is empirically examined. Results are consistent with hypotheses derived from the innovation literature and suggest local-level characteristics are the dominant drivers of cities' decisions to commit to climate protection.

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Over 1000 US municipalities have formally committed to reduce their local greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through participation in one of several climate-protection networks. This has attracted the attention of researchers interested in theories of free riding and local political decision making who question why municipalities become engaged in this global effort. However, whereas joining a climate-protection network or adopting an emissions-reduction goal are relatively low-cost acts, the implementation of such policies entails higher costs. This raises legitimate questions about the extent and type of follow-through made on municipal climate-protection commitments. With this paper I begin to fill in the data gap around municipal climate-protection initiatives and construct an index that quantifies the GHG-reduction policies implemented by local governments. Data informing the index are collected on municipalities in the US state of Indiana and are used to test theories of local political decision making. Findings point to the important role that policy entrepreneurs play in advancing local climate protection as well as to the potential inadequacy of membership in climate-protection organizations as an indicator of increased implementation of GHG-reducing activities.

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The municipal political decision-making dynamic has typically been studied in regard to the provision of locally public goods and services whose benefits, while diffuse, are tied to a particular geography. This research extends current knowledge by empirically examining the local production of a global public good: climate protection. It utilises an original nation-wide dataset on the greenhouse gas-reducing activities that have been implemented by city governments in the US. These data enable the development of a more comprehensive measure of local climate protection than has been used in previous quantitative research. Several theories of local political decision-making are tested to determine the factors that influence the extent of municipal involvement in climate-protecting activities. Results suggest that local governments' fiscal and human capacities are key determinants of involvement.