Competition and Cooperation in Urban Climate Governance: A Global Systematic Review

Abstract

Cities are assuming an increasingly pivotal role in global climate governance. They function not only as key drivers of “bottom–up” governance initiatives but also as active practitioners of a “learning-by-doing” approach in tackling climate challenges. A key issue in understanding urban climate actions relates to when and where they cooperate and/or compete with other urban areas as they address climate challenges. This study conducts a systematic review to identify 61 relevant studies from the perspective of competition and cooperation theories, through iterative screening and to consider the roles of competition and cooperation in these studies. The findings reveal that competitive dynamics within climate governance are mainly reflected in the allocation of carbon responsibilities, access to climate finance, and the development of green technologies and innovation. Cooperative interactions, by contrast, are more evident in both “hard” domains such as the exchange of resources and technologies and “soft” domains including policy learning, experience sharing, and information flows. Different climate issues further demonstrate an embedded configuration in which competition and cooperation are jointly integrated throughout the policy process. The analysis builds understanding of urban climate governance across multiple levels, polycentric structures, and intercity network arrangements, and it identifies a number of critical gaps in the literature that could be addressed in future research.