Walking the Talk: Why Cities Adopt Ambitious Climate Action Plans

Abstract

Why do some municipalities adopt ambitious climate action plans and others do not? This study examines United States cities that have signed the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, to identify the factors that have led some of them (37 percent, 63 cities) to adopt ambitious (Net Zero) climate action plans. It finds that two factors make the most difference: (a) whether the city has a paid city employee (or department) dedicated to environmental/energy management and (b) whether the city has a university. Other factors, such as per capita income, city revenue, state funding, size, partisan orientation, and membership in international climate networks, did not significantly influence how ambitious a city's climate action plan was. This study combines a statistical analysis of the signatory cities with a qualitative study Middletown Connecticut to explain why city energy managers and universities can have such a positive effect on city climate action.

The Transaction Costs of the Administrative Presidency: Evidence From a Trump-Era Clean Water Act Enforcement Reduction

“…Much of the research on intergovernmental transaction costs has explored the costs of delegating bureaucratic authority from the standpoint of the states' relationships with the national government (Epstein & O'Halloran, 1999;Horn, 1995;Rabe, 2011), and more recently the hierarchical complexities of statelocal relations (Bery & Haddad, 2023;Farmer, 2022aFarmer, , 2022bHomsy et al, 2019;Huang & Berry, 2022;Youm & Feiock, 2019). However, the complexities of transaction cost federalism can also manifest in the relationship between the federal and local governments (Farmer, 2015).…”

Progress in Research on Net-Zero-Carbon Cities: A Literature Review and Knowledge Framework

“…Researchers such as K. C. Seto in 2021 have shown that an NZCC transition is possible by analyzing practice data and policies in various cities [124]. Current perspectives on the transition in the literature fall into four main directions, starting with the conceptual transition, where some researchers suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic collapse could be seen as an opportunity for NZCCs [125,126], allowing city policymakers to reposition the economy and create a more walkable local city. A fresh perspective was taken to rediscover local parks and electric transportation opportunities, such as e-bikes, bike-sharing, and electric-assisted bikes.…”