So You’ve Declared a Climate Emergency, What Now? Local Government Responses to Climate Change: Evidence from Ontario

Keywords: Climate Change, Local Government, Policy and Practice, Cities, Canada
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Cities are quickly becoming one of the key nexus points for policy and practice related to climate change. Currently, cities are responsible for 70% of global carbon emissions and the need for concerted efforts toward local de-carbonization efforts is becoming increasingly important. City governments now understand that they can no longer be passive players in addressing climate change - but instead require action. For many cities the first step was declaring a climate emergency, with over 2,100 jurisdictions doing so. But then what? Key questions have emerged around what is being done?; and how do you develop engagement, buy-in, and participation from all members of the community? To address these questions, this research explores the perceptions of public and private-sector stakeholders (i.e., city officials, communication experts, consultants, non-profit workers) from across the Province of Ontario, Canada. Two focus groups (n = 14 participants) were used to probe key issues through a decision-theater framework. Participant responses were then explored through an inductive, grounded-theory approach. Emerging from the focus groups was a clear theme: while there was general positivity about the direction that cities were taking to help address climate change locally, there are a number of significant issues that need to be addressed before efforts can become more comprehensive and effective. These are both internal to government (i.e., overcoming local bureaucracy and organizational disorganization), within the broader community (i.e., issues of civic participation), and at the government-community interface (i.e., developing key communication and branding strategies to generate community engagement).