#Berlin #Paris #Governance
09/24
Intergovernmental Relations in Urban Climate Policy: How Berlin and Paris Formulate and Implement Climate Strategies
Published in:
New Perspectives on Intergovernmental Relations / Chapter 8, 2024 (Open Access)
Tomás Vellani, Franziska Oehlert and Janina Walkenhorst
Local climate strategies have become key instruments for managing climate policy in large cities. Decision-makers must coordinate a variety of actors – including sub-municipal administrative units and neighboring administrations – to ensure legitimate, socially accepted and effective climate policy. The study examines from a comparative perspective how the relationships within administrations and between administrative units (intergovernmental relations, IGR) affect the formulation and implementation of climate strategies in the … The selected case studies are the capital cities of Berlin and Paris and their surroundings Brandenburg and the metropolis of Grand Paris, which, characterized by different administrative structures, are confronted with the challenges of an established climate policy.
Embedded in different institutional contexts, Berlin and Paris initially pursued a path of relatively centralized climate strategy formulation. Over time, however, the process developed into a more decentralized and coordinated approach involving the respective district administrations. In terms of horizontal IGR, Berlin pursued a decoupled approach with limited coordination with the state of Brandenburg. Paris, meanwhile, is much more closely integrated with its surrounding areas through the inter-municipal metropolis Grand Paris. Overall, three challenges were identified for the IGR structures: Institutional capacity, multi-level coordination and the requirements for the participation of diverse actors*. Addressing these challenges places a significant burden on local administrative capacity. The findings not only highlight the limitations of centralized IGR approaches at the local level, but also the importance of reconciling the distribution of functional responsibilities with the rights to consultation and participation in climate policy formulation processes.
The study was funded by the University of Potsdam. The project is affiliated with the Climate Change Center Berlin Brandenburg.
Images: Philipp Arnoldt, CCC & Tobias Hopfgarten (Contact)