Forerunner, Follower and Laggards: Governance of Climate Change in German Cities

„Yes, we could do something about climate change now, but if we were to find out in 50 years' time that all the scientists were wrong after all and that there is no global warming at all, then we would have ensured, for no reason at all, that the air can be breathed again even in the cities, that the rivers are no longer poisonous, that cars make neither noise nor stink and that we are no longer dependent on dictators and their oil reserves. That would make us very angry“.
(Marc-Uwe Kling)

For several decades, cities have played an increasingly active role in climate governance. Initially, their efforts focused primarily on climate mitigation — that is, strategies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In response to more frequent extreme weather events such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall, many cities have more recently begun to implement climate adaptation measures as well.

Existing research on local climate governance has concentrated largely on internationally networked and high-profile cities — typically large metropolises like Amsterdam, Copenhagen, or Stockholm, as well as a few smaller but highly visible pioneers such as Bristol, Freiburg, or Graz. What these cities usually have in common is that they operate under relatively favourable conditions. Namely, adequate financial and human resources, and support from local politics and civil society. Moreover, they often benefit from national and international visibility. But what about the “second-tier” cities — those that, unlike the acknowledged leaders, must often work with limited resources, face political or institutional constraints, and receive little attention from civil society or the media?

This habilitation project aims to explore a broad spectrum of cities in Germany, including both forerunners — cities with a long-standing and ambitious climate policy agenda — and laggards, which have so far shown limited activity in this field. Most importantly, it also considers the wide range of cities that fall somewhere in between. However, the goal of the project is not to classify cities by their level of climate ambition, but to understand the underlying factors that shape their approach to climate governance.

In this context, previous studies have highlighted the influence of structural factors— particularly socio-demographic, socio-economic, and economic factors — on local climate governance. Building on these insights, the project places special emphasis on different city types, such as science and university cities, post-industrial cities (in transition), and historic cities with specific spatial or cultural legacies.

The research will be based on qualitative case studies in large, medium-sized, and small German cities. Primary methods will include policy document analysis and semi-structured expert interviews. Additionally, the project will examine whether, and under what conditions, successful climate governance approaches might be transferred from one urban context to another — both from an empirical and a conceptual perspective.

The habilitation project is a joint project with the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (Department of Regional Planning) and is supervised by Prof. Dr. Ludger Gailing.

Photo: Neil/stock.adobe.com