The Formation of Regional Climate Collaboratives in the US
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Date
2020
Authors
Thomas, Curtis
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management, University of Oregon
Abstract
Climate change is disrupting urban regions throughout the United States and has resulted in the loss of life and property. The immediate and long-term threats have compelled local governments to act, especially given the lack of state and federal support in the United States. Local jurisdictions, private entities, non-profits, and academic institutions have formed regional collaboratives to take on efforts of adaption and mitigation. Regional coordination is difficult because of diverse stakeholders that have different levels of power and frame their issues in different forms. Even though there are complexities, collaborations have formed voluntarily within several regions in the US. The specific purpose of this research is to understand and describe how regional climate collaboratives convened, and what motivated the key players to join the effort, as well as how they side stepped early barriers. This research included a deeper dive of eight case studies in the United States in order understand the regional context and origin story, as well as the structural components in order to find cross-collaborative themes. Three case studies were in Florida, four in California, and one was in the Kansas City metropolitan area. While the collaboratives and individually complex, this research revealed best practices that can be iterated by future regional efforts. First, potential organizations or members should be identified, then invited to create the network in order to see what cards are in your hand. Then, the members have to frame the issue to present common ground. Finally, as the collaborative is formalizing, the leaders should pick an administrator and funding strategy that reflect the goals of the collaborative. In the US, regional climate collaboratives are the most optimistic chance to empower local jurisdictions and bring about the projects and policies to protect against the risk from climate change.
Description
46 pages
Keywords
Regional Climate Collaborative, Convening, Climate change