Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Introducing Transatlantic Perspectives on the Role of Cities, States and Regions Within the Climate Regime

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Can Cities, States and Regions Save Our Planet?

Part of the book series: Energy, Climate and the Environment ((ECE))

Abstract

This chapter introduces the main themes and topics that are elaborated in subsequent chapters. It sets out the book’s objective to explore and compare interactions between the different tiers of multilevel governance and their impact on the implementation of climate policies in the US and France. Both countries display notable differences in approach on how sub-state entities are mobilized in the enactment of national climate policies. The sample cities of New York, Boston and Paris each constitute a distinctive paradigm in terms of multilevel governance with the higher echelons—the states of New York and Massachusetts, and the Île-de-France region. Even though they are located on different continents, a number of analogous patterns are apparent with respect to the nature of interactions between the different tiers. The American federal system and the centralized French paradigm display both advantages and disadvantages when it comes to the articulation of multilevel governance and the ways in which sub-state actors are integrated. This introduction also sets out the distinctive contributions of this book to the academic literature vis-à-vis other works in similar fields, and outlines the methodologies used to develop the research agenda.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    In this regard, it is worth mentioning the works of Rachel Carson, Garrett Hardin and the ‘Club of Rome’, which were among the first to raise awareness about the impacts of environmental degradation and uncontrolled economic growth at the time. See Carson (2000), Hardin (1968) and Meadows et al. (1972).

  2. 2.

    Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007, 2014, 2022).

  3. 3.

    Ibid.

  4. 4.

    Ibid.

  5. 5.

    Victor (2001) and Parker et al. (2012).

  6. 6.

    Non-Party stakeholders refer to all sub-national (cities, regions or states) and non-state actors (businesses and private sector entities, along with civil society) that seek to be affiliated with the COP process, but cannot sign the Paris Agreement due to the State-centric nature of international law.

  7. 7.

    UN Environment, Cities and climate change: https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/resource-efficiency/what-we-do/cities/cities-and-climate-change.

  8. 8.

    Ibid.

  9. 9.

    Ibid.

  10. 10.

    Hughes et al. (2018) and Sachs (2015).

  11. 11.

    While cities are essential, they form part of a larger policy framework. Their possibilities, decision-making capabilities and motivations are intricately intertwined within broader processes involving the higher echelons of governance.

  12. 12.

    Hooghe and Marks (2001).

  13. 13.

    Stubbs (2005).

  14. 14.

    Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/effective.

  15. 15.

    Macmillan Online Dictionary: https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/articulation.

  16. 16.

    Jotzo et al. (2018).

  17. 17.

    Anderson et al. (2017) and Bomberg (2017).

  18. 18.

    Even though China surpassed the US as the first global GHG emitter back in 2007, the American economy remains the largest in the world in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). See Barichella (2018).

  19. 19.

    Coleman and Leskiw (2018).

  20. 20.

    Elliott and Esty (2021).

  21. 21.

    Cornwall (2017) and Palacková (2017).

  22. 22.

    Barichella (2019).

  23. 23.

    The Biden Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice: https://joebiden.com/climate-plan/.

  24. 24.

    Barichella (2021).

  25. 25.

    Zelizer (2022).

  26. 26.

    Barichella (2021). This is analyzed in detail in Chapter 3, which thoroughly examines each one of these obstacles and the ways in which each has hampered the Biden administration’s attempts to enact an ambitious climate agenda at the federal level.

  27. 27.

    US Climate Mayors: https://climatemayors.org. US Climate Alliance: http://www.usclimatealliance.org.

  28. 28.

    America Is All In: https://www.americaisallin.com.

  29. 29.

    On US federalism, see Coleman and Leskiw (2018), Fisher and Harriger (2019), Robertson (2017), and LaCroix (2010).

  30. 30.

    Paris as the capital of France, Boston as the capital of the state of Massachusetts and New York City as the capital of the state of New York.

  31. 31.

    See Réseau Action Climat France (2022).

  32. 32.

    Aubelle and Kerrouche (2022) and Kada et al. (2017).

  33. 33.

    Chapters 4, 5 and 8 will examine how through four consecutive phases of decentralization, including the current one unfolding under President Macron, the national government has progressively ascribed more competences to sub-state entities in France.

  34. 34.

    Turner and Isenberg (2018) and Layzer (2012).

  35. 35.

    Lisowski (2002).

  36. 36.

    Large parts of the country, mostly Republican-voting areas in the South or Midwest for example, remain uncommitted to climate action, which continues to sharply divide the US along partisan lines. See Barichella (2018, 2021). On the degree of polarization in US climate politics under Obama, see also Brewer (2012).

  37. 37.

    “Mitigation can mean using new technologies and renewable energies, making older equipment more energy efficient, or changing management practices or consumer behavior”. UN Environment, Mitigation: https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/climate-change/what-we-do/mitigation.

  38. 38.

    IPCC (2014).

  39. 39.

    “It refers to changes in processes, practices, and structures to moderate potential damages … associated with climate change”. UNFCCC, What do adaptation to climate change and climate resilience mean?: https://unfccc.int/topics/adaptation-and-resilience/the-big-picture/what-do-adaptation-to-climate-change-and-climate-resilience-mean.

  40. 40.

    See Lackner et al. (2022).

  41. 41.

    Johnson et al. (2017).

  42. 42.

    Hughes et al. (2018).

  43. 43.

    Van der Heijden et al. (2019).

  44. 44.

    Barber (2017).

  45. 45.

    Fitzgerald (2020).

  46. 46.

    Jones (2018).

  47. 47.

    Wurzel et al. (2020).

  48. 48.

    Bruyninckx et al. (2012).

  49. 49.

    Bache et al. (2015).

  50. 50.

    Harrison and Mikler (2014).

  51. 51.

    Dupont and Oberthür (2015).

  52. 52.

    Weibust and Meadowcroft (2015).

  53. 53.

    Achilles and Elzey (2013).

  54. 54.

    Several respondents were interviewed multiple times, which explains this discrepancy in numbers.

Bibliography

Books and articles

  • Achilles, M., & Elzey, D. (2013). Environmental Sustainability in Transatlantic Perspective: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, C., Biever, J., Desai, S., Downey, K., Gutierrez, A., Hellreich, A., Krantz, S., Launer, Z., Lillie, A., Lilyestrom, J., Ratliff, D., Roma, A., Stenger, D., Sullivan, M. A., Titus, L., & Wickett, J. (2017). ‘The America First Energy Policy of the Trump Administration’. Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law, 35(3), 221–270. https://doi.org/10.1080/02646811.2017.1321263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aubelle, V., & Kerrouche, E. (2022). La décentralisation: Pour, contre ou avec l’État? La documentation française.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bache, I., Bartle, I., Flinders, M., & Marsden, G. (2015). Multilevel Governance and Climate Change: Insights from Transport Policy. Rowman & Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barber, B. R. (2017). Cool Cities: Urban Sovereignty and the Fix for Global Warming. Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barichella, A. (2018). ‘Multi-actor, Multi-level Governance for the Transatlantic Climate and Energy Dialogue’. Sciences Po Law Review, 14, 71–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barichella, A. (2019, December 6). ‘The Battle Heats Up: Climate Issues in the 2020 US Presidential Election’. Éditoriaux de l’Ifri – Édito Énergie.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barichella, A. (2021, January 13). ‘US Climate Politics under Biden: Is the Clean Energy Revolution Under Way?’ Éditoriaux de l’Ifri – Édito Énergie.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bomberg, E. (2017). ‘Environmental Politics in the Trump Era: An Early Assessment’. Environmental Politics, 26(5), 956–963. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2017.1332543

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brewer, P. (2012). ‘Polarisation in the USA: Climate Change, Party Politics, and Public Opinion in the Obama Era’. European Political Science, 11, 7–17. https://doi.org/10.1057/eps.2011.10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruyninckx, H., Happaerts, S., & Van den Brande, K. (2012). Sustainable Development and Subnational Governments: Policy-Making and Multi-Level Interactions. Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carson, R. (2000 edition, originally published in 1962). Silent Spring. Penguin Classics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, A. N., & Leskiw, C. S. (2018). Debating Federalism: From the Founding to Today. Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornwall, W. (2017). ‘Can U.S. States and Cities Overcome Paris Exit?’ Science, 356(6342), 1000. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.356.6342.1000

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dupont, C., & Oberthür, S. (2015). Decarbonization in the European Union: Internal Policies and External Strategies. Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, E. D., & Esty, D. C. (2021). Advanced Introduction to U.S. Environmental Law. Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, L., & Harriger, K. (2019—12th edition). American Constitutional Law, Volume 1: Constitutional Structures: Separated Powers and Federalism. Carolina Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald, J. (2020). Greenovation: Urban Leadership on Climate Change. Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hardin, G. (1968). ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’. Science, 162(3859), 1243–1248. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.162.3859.1243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, N., & Mikler, J. (2014). Climate Innovation: Liberal Capitalism and Climate Change. Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hooghe, L., & Marks, G. (2001). Multi-Level Governance and European Integration. Rowman & Littlefield Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, S., Chu, E. K., & Mason, S. G. (2018). Climate Change in Cities: Innovations in Multi-Level Governance. Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Fourth Assessment Report (2007).

    Google Scholar 

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Fifth Assessment Report (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Sixth Assessment Report (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, C., Toly, N., & Schroeder, H. (2017). The Urban Climate Challenge: Rethinking the Role of Cities in the Global Climate Regime. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, S. (2018). Cities Responding to Climate Change: Copenhagen, Stockholm and Tokyo. Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jotzo, F., Depledge, J., & Winkler, H. (2018). ‘US and International Climate Policy Under President Trump’. Climate Policy, 18(7), 813–817. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2018.1490051

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kada, N., Pasquier, R., Courtecuisse, C., & Aubelle, V. (2017). Dictionnaire Encyclopédique de la Décentralisation. Berger Levrault.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lackner, M., Sajjadi, B., & Chen, W.-Y. (2022—3rd edition). Handbook of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • LaCroix, A. L. (2010). Ideological Origins of American Federalism. Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Layzer, J. A. (2012). Open for Business: Conservatives’ Opposition to Environmental Regulation. The MIT Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lisowski, M. (2002). ‘Playing the Two-level Game: US President Bush’s Decision to Repudiate the Kyoto Protocol’. Environmental Politics, 11(4), 101–119. https://doi.org/10.1080/714000641

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meadows, D. H., Meadows, D. L., Randers, J., & Behrens, W. W. (1972). The Limits to Growth: A Report for the Club of Rome's Project on the Predicament of Mankind. Potomac Associates Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palacková, E. (2017). ‘The Race for Climate Leadership in the Era of Trump and Multilevel Governance’. European View, 16(3), 251–260. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12290-017-0451-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker, C. F., Karlsson, C., Hjerpe, M., & Linnér, B.-O. (2012). ‘Fragmented Climate Change Leadership: Making Sense of the Ambiguous Outcome of COP-15’. Environmental Politics, 21(2), 268–286. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2012.651903

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Réseau Action Climat France. (2022). Bilan du quinquennat d’Emmanuel Macron et de sa majorité présidentielle sur le climat et la transition énergétique.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, D. B. (2017—2nd edition). Federalism and the Making of America. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sachs, J. D. (2015). The Age of Sustainable Development. Columbia University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Stubbs, P. (2005). ‘Stretching Concepts Too Far? Multi-Level Governance, Policy Transfer and the Politics of Scale in South East Europe’. Southeast European Politics, 6(2), 66–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, J. M., & Isenberg, A. C. (2018). The Republican Reversal: Conservatives and the Environment from Nixon to Trump. Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van der Heijden, J., Bulkeley, H., & Certomà, C. (2019). Urban Climate Politics: Agency and Empowerment. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Victor, D. (2001). The Collapse of the Kyoto Protocol and the Struggle to Slow Global Warming. Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weibust, I., & Meadowcroft, J. (2015). Multilevel Environmental Governance: Managing Water and Climate Change in Europe and North America. Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wurzel, R., Liefferink, D., & Torney, D. (2020). Pioneers, Leaders and Followers in Multilevel and Polycentric Climate Governance. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zelizer, J. E. (2022). The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: A First Historical Assessment. Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

Websites

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sciences Po, Centre for European Studies, Paris, France

    Arnault Barichella

Authors
  1. Arnault Barichella
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arnault Barichella .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Barichella, A. (2023). Introducing Transatlantic Perspectives on the Role of Cities, States and Regions Within the Climate Regime. In: Can Cities, States and Regions Save Our Planet?. Energy, Climate and the Environment. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33936-3_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33936-3_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-33935-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-33936-3

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation