Local climate change governance: The case of Turkish metropolitan municipalities

The necessity of cooperation among stakeholders at each administration level is increasingly emphasized to be able to thoroughly tackle challenges posed by global climate change. Particularly the mitigation and adaptation policies and strategies followed by local governments with the involvement of both public and non-public institutions are believed to be playing a crucial role in developing countries. To this end, this study elaborates how and why local climate change protection policies and strategies are carried out by local governments in developing countries in the case of the metropolitan municipalities' initiatives in Turkey. In order to conduct such a research, both qualitative and quantitative research methods are adopted; thus in addition to studying the strategic plans and annual action reports of municipalities as part of a content analysis, a regression analysis is conducted to identify the determinants of the adoption of such policies and strategies. This study concluded that the local climate change mitigation activities are predominantly implemented by provision modes in the urban infrastructure and transportation areas. Moreover, it is shown that stress factors – causing changes in the parameters of global climate change – and socio-economic conditions are determining factors in local climate change initiatives. However, it is found that risk factors – as an indicator of the vulnerability level – have been found not having an exploratory role. Future studies may include assessment of provincial and distinct municipalities, the non-public actors, use more variables, and conduct in-depth interviews with corresponding experts to achieve further clarification. Keywords: Climate Change, Governance, Local Governments, Mitigation, Adaptation