• 113 european cities

    +5000 planned actions to reduce emissions

     

    ARE THE PLANS BECOMING A REALITY?

  • ABOUT THE study

    During the last years, the world has witnessed cities’ commitment to mitigate climate change and adapt to its effects. Local governments are voluntarily becoming members of networks of cities (such as C40, ICLEI, and Covenant of Mayors), and adopting targets and climate action plans with the objective of reducing GHG emissions related to urban activities.

     

    Although scientific studies confirm the importance of cities’ action in reducing global warming, it is not clear if the mitigation plans developed by cities are being implemented. And, more importantly: what is driving or challenging the implementation of such measures.

     

    With this question in mind, in 2016 the study “Do mitigation plans come true? An analysis of the implementation of mitigation actions by European cities and the influence of governance factors” analysed the execution of Sustainable Energy Action Plans developed by European cities. This study is one of the first attempts to assess the status of implementation of urban-scale mitigation actions undertaken by European cities, and also to explore how governance factors influence the execution of measures of different sectors.

     

    *Please note that the information provided on this website can be published only with previous authorization from the author.

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    Facts about climate change in cities

    Problem statement

    • Approximately 70% of global CO2 emissions related to energy consumption accounts to cities (OECD and IEA, 2016).

    • The Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (CoM) was launched in 2008 by the European Commission to support local and regional authorities in the development and implementation of sustainable energy policies to meet or exceed EU’s target of reducing CO2 emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2020.

    • Networks of cities contribute significantly to enhance knowledge and awareness about climate change. However, development of climate actions plans does not provide evidence of the execution of such measures or success in achieving climate goals (Reckien, Flacke, et al., 2015).

    • Even though cities are considered to be relevant actors to address climate change, it is found that several factors can drive or constrain the development of policies for both mitigation and adaptation measures.

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    Objective of the study

    Research objective and questions

    The aim of the research is to identify the governance factors that influence the implementation of urban-scale mitigation actions developed by the local governments of European cities signatories of the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, and also to determine the status of implementation of such actions.

     

    Research questions:

     

    What are the governance factors that influence the implementation of urban-scale mitigation actions by European cities?

    1. What is the status of implementation of urban-scale mitigation actions present in European cities’ Sustainable Energy Action Plans?

    2. Which are the governance factors that drive or constrain the implementation of urban-scale mitigation actions (generally and by sector)?

    3. How can the sectors be categorised according to implementation, critical drivers and critical barriers, and abatement potential?

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    Evidence used for analysis

    Methodology

    • Desk research: to collect and analyse secondary data regarding the number of urban-scale mitigation actions present in Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) developed by European cities, and the status of implementation of such actions.

    • Survey: to collect primary data related to the local governance factors and how they influence the implementation of urban-scale mitigation actions.

    • Academic literature: scientific assessment used to estimate the abatement potential (potential do reduce GHG emissions) of the urban-scale mitigation actions.

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    Cities analysed

    Sample selection

    The criteria for the sample selection requires that the cities have developed a climate action plan and published a monitoring report of its implementation.

    The sample comprises European cities with the following characteristics:

    • The city is member of the Covenant of Mayors

    • The city has more than 50,000 inhabitants

    • The city adopted a target to reduce GHG emissions by 2020, at least

    • The city developed and monitored a Sustainable Energy Action Plan

    • Monitoring information of the city’s SEAP is available on the section “Signatories” of Covenant of Mayor’s website

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    structure of the study

     

  • Framework

    The study is based on three main concepts: local climate governance, urban-scale mitigation, and implementation.

     

    Local climate governance is related to the local government’s ability to frame mitigation policies, as well as its capacity and autonomy to implement such policies, considering the political context of actors that might act as barriers or drivers of implementation (Stoker, 1998, Fukuyama, 2013).

     

    The concept is further divided into three variables: local framing, local government capacity, and political actors and factors, as the framework organised by Ryan (2015). The variables are defined as follows:

    • Local framing: Local government’s ability to frame mitigation policies considering local problems, and generating other socio-economic or environmental benefits.

    • Local government capacity: comprehends political and financial autonomy, financial and human resources, and knowledge and information regarding climate change.

    • Political actors and factors: factors characterised by the social and political context, which includes the broad range of actors that might somehow encourage or act as obstacles for climate action at the local level.

     

    Urban-scale mitigation actions are the policies and measures undertaken by city governments with the objective of reducing GHG emissions related to urban activities (Erickson, Lazarus, et al., 2013). The extent to which emissions reduction can be achieved is defined as the abatement potential.

     

    Implementation is understood to be the extent to which the urban-scale mitigation actions described previously are translated into “concrete and operating actions” in the understanding of local governments (Ryan, 2015).

     

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    Interested? Scroll down for the results.

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    RESULTS

     

  • MAIN Findings of the study

    The results are presented in the same order as the study was conducted, and the author suggests that you follow this structure for a better understanding of the findings. First, you will learn about the main characteristics of the European cities analysed, following to the level of implementation of the mitigation actions undertaken by these cities, and continuing by learning what drives or challenges the execution of these measures.

     

    At last, in "Summary of findings", the results are organised and compared. This section also adds information about the potential of each sector to reduce emissions, based on academic research.

    113 European cities selected for the study. All cities are signatories of the Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy for which the monitoring reports of the Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) were published online.  The sample consists of 113 cities of 23 European countries. Most of the...
    21% of the actions haven't started yet. Through the development of the Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs), the cities signatories of the Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (CoM) undertake mitigation actions to reduce GHG emissions by 2020. According to the monitoring reports of the...
    Political autonomy of the local government is the most crucial factor in terms of implementation. In order to explore which factors influence the implementation mitigation actions, the European cities were invited to answer a survey. The 38 European cities that participated in the study...
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    AUTHOR

     

  • JEN HEEMANN

    MSc in Urban Management and Development at IHS, Erasmus University Rotterdam.

     

    Jen conducted this research under the supervision of Dr Stelios Grafakos to fully complete her MSc degree requirements. She is highly interested in the transition to a sustainable society and desires to pursue a PhD degree in the field.

     

    Before participating in the master programme, she worked for 8 years in the communication field. She also developed urban interventions, workshops, and a conference in Brazil to build awareness to urban issues, such as lack of public spaces, pollution, and poor condition of sidewalks. She co-founded Bela Rua, a not-for-profit organisation that helps citizens, companies, and governments to implement urban projects using a Placemaking approach, and wrote an article about her experience in the book The City at Eye Level, published in the Netherlands.

     

    She is Brazilian and lives in the Netherlands.


    For more information, please find her on Linked-in or contact her by using the form bellow.