A Decade of Climate Action and the Mission towards Climate Neutrality and Adaptation in European Cities: Delivering Urban Transformations?

Ana Corrêa do Lago (), Teresa Sánchez Chaparro and Julio Lumbreras
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Ana Corrêa do Lago: Centro de Innovación en Tecnología para el Desarrollo Humano, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (itdUPM), 28040 Madrid, Spain
Teresa Sánchez Chaparro: Centro de Innovación en Tecnología para el Desarrollo Humano, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (itdUPM), 28040 Madrid, Spain
Julio Lumbreras: Centro de Innovación en Tecnología para el Desarrollo Humano, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (itdUPM), 28040 Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 24, 1-13

Abstract: Climate action in cities is increasingly recognized as of strategic importance to accomplish the global governance of climate change. In Europe, cities are adopting a “mission approach” to accelerate urban transformations and reach climate neutrality targets by 2030. While the “Mission” unfolds, it is worth acknowledging that in the last decade, cities in Europe have engaged in climate action. Through a selection of empirical case studies, this review examines the main governance approaches that have been used to analyze the implementation of transformative adaptation and mitigation measures in the Global North. This approach aims to respond to the gap between policy rhetoric of urban transformations and the realities of on-the-ground implementation. This systematic literature review asks the following question: what are the challenges and key success factors amongst the governance approaches that have informed the implementation of transformative climate agendas in cities of the Global North? The findings cover conceptual approaches to analyze the governance of urban transformations, and cases illustrate the challenges in mainstreaming climate action, even in cities that are environmental champions. The need to strengthen collaborations to deliver transformative interventions is raised, while the authors also caution about power imbalances in network governance.

Keywords: urban transformations; urban climate governance; urban planning policy styles; experimental governance; network governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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