March 28, 2024
Municipal Information Network

Arresting Development
Volume 5, Issue 31

August 20, 2014

Half of the world’s population now lives in cities; a share that experts say will increase to 75 percent within the next 30 years or so. Urban increase means local governments have to really wake up to this relevance and deal with the inherent problems of sustainability. Take for example the city of Mumbai, India – it governs more people than any of the 150 smallest United Nations (UN) member states. At this rate of citification, the next 40 years will have to see building and infrastructure construction equal to all that has been built in the last 4,000 years.1

Countless cities will be affected strongly by climate change, while remaining obligated to provide basic human services and secure the feeding of their citizens. At the same time, however, their standard powers, portfolios, and resources are fairly narrow. Even countries with explicit decentralization processes shift far more duties than opportunities to their local governments.

The emerging importance of these governing bodies raises some critical questions:2

  1. Can cities, towns, counties, metropolitan areas, and other local units govern themselves and their social and economic development in ways that maintain, save, and improve the natural resources and ecosystems that enable all development?
  2. Can local governments influence national and global governance toward sustainability?
  3. Do their actions result in global improvements?

It’s important to understand how local governments have become a factor – perhaps even the prime factor – in global sustainability efforts in recent years. They can be instrumental in clarifying the current discussions around climate governance, the UN’s Sustainable Development goals, and the role of cities in achieving them as well as urban growth and sustainability in general.

Looking at local government we see a multitude of public administrative units, which are the lowest tiers. These include all of the people living in the provinces, regions, departments, counties, prefectures, districts, cities, townships, towns, boroughs, parishes, municipalities, shires, and villages. Their leadership is locally elected or appointed by higher administrative authorities.

Recently, common concerns about environmental protection and sustainable development have twigged local governments to cooperate more closely across countries. This increase in international collaboration is related largely to local governments’ involvement in the larger debate. This is a key look at how the world has been changing, i.e. the global role of local governments dates back a mere two decades.

The growing movement of local governments is shadowed by a similar phenomenon among regional governments, some of which have also formed global organizations based on similar visions and concerns. Among the best known are nrg4SD (Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development) and R20 (Regions of Climate Action).

Local and regional governments are often referred to as ‘subnational governments,’ but often their character is mixed. Examples include the German city states, like Berlin, or highly urbanized states like São Paulo in Brazil. Within global geopolitical processes such as transnational negotiations and agreements, local and regional governments often cooperate closely and perceive themselves as counterparts to national governments and to the UN system. This broader thinking is, in part, a necessity as the multilateral system of cooperation among sovereign nations, the UN system, and related mechanisms do not define a role for local governments; they are instead perceived as part of, and represented through, their respective countries.3

Defining a role for local governments surrounding the debate on global governance for sustainable development is a challenge that many countries hesitate to become part of. Many local governments remain concerned about the increasing failure of the current mechanisms of global governance, particularly the UN structure. In general, limited progress at the level of national governments suggests both the need and opportunity for a much larger role for cities and towns.

We are seeing that as much as local action can change the world and serve as a motivating and driving factor, it is also true that national governments cannot walk away from their responsibilities. Despite the often overwhelming effects of local action, it still has limits and, in some cases, is totally ineffective. Even as many local governments invest in voluntary and sometimes symbolic action, in many cases, the goals could be reached much more quickly and efficiently through improved framework conditions at the national level, such as through federal laws or building standards and nationally directed adjustments to economic conditions – in the form of energy prices for example.

The key to increased recognition and support of local action is better evidence of achievements and impacts. Documenting success and efficiency is the indispensable condition for a transparent verification of relevance. In other words, become recognized as a viable and credible entity. The carbonn Cities Climate Registry (cCCR) is a major step forward in this regard. This online system, developed by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability – and available to all local and (soon) regional governments globally, records local commitments, targets, policies, activities, and achievements. cCCR not only is a means to document the relevance and impacts of local actions, but can also pave the way for local partners taking part in the global carbon market . It can also increase their access to climate funds and finances.

Even so, in order to support the relevance of local government and civil society’s contribution to the global sustainability targets, better measurements of impacts, achievements and progress are required that go beyond mainly listing and describing activities. It’s becoming increasingly important to identify key indicators for climate change (beyond simply measuring carbon dioxide emissions), as well as for biodiversity, water, and other resources.

The strategy of global targets and local implementation is not to ignore the national level. It means, however, mobilizing the energy and creativity of countless subnational entities with their own governance systems comprising their own leadership, sources of inspiration, resources, understanding of citizens’ needs, and local solutions. All peoples are governed by and have a stake in some form of local government. With this in mind and to this end, cumulative local actions can achieve tangible improvements in global sustainability. The challenge for the global governance system is to understand this huge potential and to form framework conditions within its exchange and decision-making mechanisms that encourage and unleash this potential to achieve direct improvements to our environment, ecological systems, and social well-being.


1 ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, “ICLEI Submission for Rio+20: Contribution to the Zero Draft of the Rio+20 Outcome Document” (Bonn: 31 October 2011), 1
2 Zimmermann, M. “How Local Governments Have Become a Factor in Global Sustainability.” State of the World 2014 Governing for Sustainability (2014): 153
3 Ibid. 153

For more information

Terry Wildman

Terry Wildman
Senior Editor
terry@electricenergyonline.com
GlobalRenewableNews.com