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The Role of Cities in Global Climate Governance – The Case of Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich

Hess, Tristan LU (2019) In IIIEE Master Thesis IMEN41 20192
The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics
Abstract
This thesis investigates the role of cities in climate governance. Its starting point is the popular narrative according to which cities are leading national governments in the fight against climate change, challenging their authority and disrupting the political order. This narrative is named the strong cities in climate governance argument. Cities in the US currently behave according to the narrative. It is assumed that if cities all around the world would follow the example of US cities, this would lead to massive disruptions in global climate governance.
The thesis investigates the role of the three biggest German cities, Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich, in global climate governance in order to find out if they follow the example of US... (More)
This thesis investigates the role of cities in climate governance. Its starting point is the popular narrative according to which cities are leading national governments in the fight against climate change, challenging their authority and disrupting the political order. This narrative is named the strong cities in climate governance argument. Cities in the US currently behave according to the narrative. It is assumed that if cities all around the world would follow the example of US cities, this would lead to massive disruptions in global climate governance.
The thesis investigates the role of the three biggest German cities, Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich, in global climate governance in order to find out if they follow the example of US cities or if they show a different behaviour. The investigation is based on interviews with city representatives working on the topic of climate change.
It is found that the three German cities show a different behaviour than the US cities and than the strong cities in climate governance argument assumes. While the US cities are in opposition to their national government (acting as challenger cities), the German cities cooperate with their national government (acting as facilitator cities). Still, cities in both countries are active on the international stage, a space that is traditionally reserved for nation- states. This adds additional complexity and uncertainty to the study of global climate governance and highlights the importance of additional research in this field. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Hess, Tristan LU
supervisor
organization
course
IMEN41 20192
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
cities, global climate governance, multi-level governance, international relations
publication/series
IIIEE Master Thesis
report number
2019:44
ISSN
1401-9191
language
English
id
8997737
date added to LUP
2019-11-19 14:44:46
date last changed
2019-11-19 14:44:46
@misc{8997737,
  abstract     = {{This thesis investigates the role of cities in climate governance. Its starting point is the popular narrative according to which cities are leading national governments in the fight against climate change, challenging their authority and disrupting the political order. This narrative is named the strong cities in climate governance argument. Cities in the US currently behave according to the narrative. It is assumed that if cities all around the world would follow the example of US cities, this would lead to massive disruptions in global climate governance.
The thesis investigates the role of the three biggest German cities, Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich, in global climate governance in order to find out if they follow the example of US cities or if they show a different behaviour. The investigation is based on interviews with city representatives working on the topic of climate change.
It is found that the three German cities show a different behaviour than the US cities and than the strong cities in climate governance argument assumes. While the US cities are in opposition to their national government (acting as challenger cities), the German cities cooperate with their national government (acting as facilitator cities). Still, cities in both countries are active on the international stage, a space that is traditionally reserved for nation- states. This adds additional complexity and uncertainty to the study of global climate governance and highlights the importance of additional research in this field.}},
  author       = {{Hess, Tristan}},
  issn         = {{1401-9191}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{IIIEE Master Thesis}},
  title        = {{The Role of Cities in Global Climate Governance – The Case of Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}