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URBAN FUTURES * * * * * * * * * * * www.ral.ucar.edu/csap/themes/urbanfutures Do Cities Have the Institutional Capacity to Address Climate Change? Patricia Romero-Lankao April 17, 2015

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Patricia Romero-Lankao and Joshua Sperling (NCAR), Natalia Brutto, Jorgelina Hardoy (Argentina), Kate Auty (Australia), Manyu Chang, Rafael DAlmeida Martins (Brazil), Sarah Burch, Sara Hughes, Alex Aylett (Canada), Roxana Borquez (Chile), Anja Wejs (Denmark), Kerstin Krellenberg (Germany), Ryoko Nakano (Japan), Gina Ziervogel (South Africa), David Simon (UK)

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Outline Why institutional capacity Our framework Scope of urban responses Findings

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Why institutional capacity? Climate science is important But not sufficient Social sciences analysis of decision making is also key

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Gap between policy discourse and what can be accomplished on the ground Can cities address underlying drivers of GHG emissions, vulnerability and risk? Who are the actors involved and what are these responses? What are the attributes and determinants of institutional capacity? Eugenia Mortonhttp://www.thedenverchannel.com/ ADAPTE project

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Institutional response capacity the pool of resources actors can use to manage climate change, while attending to other development needs. Response any action to manage climate & environmental change, in anticipation or after it has happened. Actor government, private, NGOs, experts (e.g., scientists), and the media. Romero-Lankao et al., (2013). Climate change governance is a set of formal and informal rules rule-making systems actor-networks at all levels to steer cities towards mitigating and adapting to climate change

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Laws, Rules Networks Information Actor Response Context Participation Urban Development Pathways Response Capacity Issue of Concern Institutional capacity, a framework

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Relative location along the y-axis is not significant Source: Romero-Lankao et al., in review) Scope of urban climate change responses

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Coordination across levels and sectors of governance has been crucial as it Reduces transaction costs Facilitates communication Enhances access to and learning from resources Climate knowledge, technologies, best practices Rotterdam & Ho Chi Minh

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Rotterdam & Ho Chi Minh Adaptation Partnership

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Other institutional determinants of the gap Enablers of Climate Change Response in 350 cities Source Aylett (2014) First, leadership, political will, and differentiated access to resources

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Second: path-dependencies following from Large investments in carbon intensive infrastructure/growth in risk-prone areas www.denverpost.com Economically entrenched fossil-fuel and risky technologies Beijing 2014, Romero-Lankao Political reluctance to regulate lifestyles and behavior

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Third, laws and rules Can facilitate urban responses Mediate relationships between gov. and non gov. actors Define participation mechanisms September 2013 Flood Boulder city utility staff aware of the need to upgrade the sewage drainage system Prohibitively high cost & fear of potential litigation, led to either inaction or minimal action This increased city-wide vulnerability to the floods

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Sources of Information and Guidance for Climate Planning in 350 cities. Source Aylett (2014). Fourth, information

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Narrowing information usability gap Scientific information necessary but insufficient to trigger responses Gap between production of science & the production of policy Responses are often based on Values Clout of powerful interests Habit Models of Science-Policy Interaction Source: Dilling and Lemos, 2011)

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Concluding Remarks Urban climate responses: a pressing issue With some exceptions, responses tend to be incremental & fragmented No size fits all, but Longer time planning Coordination and participation Adaptable arrangements are key for effective responses Leadership and scientific information are key but not enough Other institutional factors Interplay between actors with their values, power, interests Differentiated access to Mandates Resources Decision making Information

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Agra PIRE Summer Training, July 2013 Beijing PIRE Summer Training, July 2014 Latino Children, Dec 2012

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Patricia Romero-Lankao and Joshua Sperling (NCAR), Natalia Brutto, Jorgelina Hardoy (Argentina), Kate Auty (Australia), Manyu Chang, Rafael DAlmeida Martins (Brazil), Sarah Burch, Sara Hughes, Alex Aylett (Canada), Roxana Borquez (Chile), Anja Wejs (Denmark), Kerstin Krellenberg (Germany), Ryoko Nakano (Japan), Gina Ziervogel (South Africa), David Simon (UK) Thank you!