We study the process of setting targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in municipalities within the Canadian province of British Columbia. Our findings are based on a survey of municipal planners and administrators regarding different features of the process their municipality followed to set targets. We find that the type of process a municipality follows has potential implications for both the ambitiousness of their targets and the likelihood of targets being achieved. Future research can monitor and evaluate which types of targets and target-setting processes prove more effective for fostering actual reductions in municipal emissions.
BerkePhilip R.StevensMark R.2016. “Land Use Planning for Climate Adaptation: Theory and Practice.” Journal of Planning Education and Research36 (3): 283–89.
2.
BodanskyDaniel. 2016. “The Paris Climate Change Agreement: A New Hope?” American Journal of International Law110:288–319.
3.
BoswellMichael R.GreveAdrienne I.SealeTammy L.2010. “An Assessment of the Link between Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories and Climate Action Plans.” Journal of the American Planning Association76 (4): 451–62.
4.
BurbyRaymond J.2003. “Making Plans That Matter: Citizen Involvement and Government Action.” Journal of the American Planning Association69 (1): 33–49.
5.
FalknerRobert. 2016. “The Paris Agreement and the New Logic of International Climate Politics.” International Affairs92 (5): 1107–25.
6.
FernandezSergioRaineyHal G.2006. “Managing Successful Organizational Change in the Public Sector.” Public Administration Review66 (2): 168–76.
7.
FraserEvan D. G.DougillAndrew J.MabeeWarren E.ReedMarkMcAlpinePatrick. 2006. “Bottom Up and Top Down: Analysis of Participatory Processes for Sustainability Indicator Identification as a Pathway to Community Empowerment and Sustainable Environmental Management.” Journal of Environmental Management78 (2): 114–27.
8.
GirardCorentinPulido-VelazquezManuelRinaudoJean-DanielPagéChristianYvanCaballero. 2015. “Integrating Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches to Design Global Change Adaptation at the River Basin Scale.” Global Environmental Change34 (2015): 132–46.
9.
GodschalkDavid R.BrodySamuelBurbyRaymond. 2003. “Public Participation in Natural Hazard Mitigation Policy Formation: Challenges for Comprehensive Planning.” Journal of Environmental Planning and Management46 (5): 733–54.
10.
HareWilliamStockwellClaireFlachslandChristianOberthürSebastian. 2010. “The Architecture of the Global Climate Regime: A Top-Down Perspective.” Climate Policy10 (January): 600–14.
11.
HoffJensStrobelBjarne W.2013. “A Municipal ‘Climate Revolution’? The Shaping of Municipal Climate Change Policies.” Journal of Transdisciplinary Environmental Studies12 (1): 3–14.
12.
HuangWei MingLeeGrace W. M.2009. “Feasibility Analysis of GHG Reduction Target: Lessons from Taiwan’s Energy Policy.” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews13 (9): 2621–28.
13.
International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. n.d. Cities for Climate Protection Milestone Guide.
14.
IPCC. 2014. Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, PachauriR. K.MeyerL. A. (eds.)]. Geneva, Switzerland: IPCC.
15.
JacquetJenniferJamiesonDale. 2016. “Soft but Significant Power in the Paris Agreement.” Nature Climate Change6 (7): 643–46.
Leal-ArcasRafael. 2011. “Alternative Architecture for Climate Change: Major Economies.” European Journal of Legal Studies29:29–67.
18.
Parliament of the Government of British Columbia. 2007a. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act. Victoria, Canada: Government of British Columbia.
19.
Parliament of the Government of British Columbia. 2007b. Green Communities Act. Victoria, Canada: Government of British Columbia.
20.
ParryMartinArnellNigelMcMichaelTonyNichollsRobertMartensPimKovatsSariLivermoreMatthewRosenzweigCynthiaIglesiasAnalysisFischerGunther. 2001. “Millions at Risk: Defining Critical Climate Change Threats and Targets.” Global Environmental Change11 (3): 81–83.
21.
PittDamianRandolphJohn. 2009. “Identifying Obstacles to Community Climate Protection Planning.” Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy27 (5): 841–57.
22.
PrinsGwynRaynerSteve. 2007. “Time to Ditch Kyoto.” Nature449 (7165): 973–75.
23.
SavaresiAnnalisa. 2016. “The Paris Agreement: A New Beginning?” Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law34 (1): 16–26.
24.
SenbelMagedFergussonDaniellaStevensMark. 2013. “Local Responses to Regional Mandates: Assessing Municipal Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Targets in British Columbia.” Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy9 (1): 28–41.
25.
SippelMaike. 2011. “Urban GHG Inventories, Target Setting and Mitigation Achievements: How German Cities Fail to Outperform Their Country.” Greenhouse Gas Measurement and Management1 (1): 55–63.
26.
StevensMarkBerkePhilip R.SongYan. 2010. “Public Participation in Local Government Review of Development Proposals in Hazardous Locations: Does It Matter, and What Do Local Government Planners Have to Do With It?” Environmental Management45 (2): 320–35.
27.
SugiyamaNorikoTakeuchiTsuneo. 2008. “Local Policies for Climate Change in Japan.” Journal of Environment & Development17 (4): 424–41.
28.
United Nations Human Settlement Programme. 2011. Cities and Climate Change: Global Report on Human Settlements, 2011. Washington, DC: United Nations Human Settlement Programme.
WeaverAndrew J.ZickfeldKirstenMontenegroAlvaroEbyMichael. 2007. “Long Term Climate Implications of 2050 Emission Reduction Targets.” Geophysical Research Letters34 (19).
31.
ZaharAlexander. Forthcoming. “A Bottom-Up Compliance Mechanism for the Paris Agreement.” Chinese Journal of Environmental Law1–23.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
