The trans-local dimension of local climate policy. Sustaining and transforming local knowledge orders through trans-local action in three German cities

Abstract

Local climate policy is a voluntary task of municipalities and thus implies an increased need to justify costly measures with, to some extent, uncertain effects. This article argues that the trans-local action space provides an important epistemic and strategic resource for local actors in the area of climate policy. The analysis particularly rests upon qualitative interviews with local administrators in three German cities (Frankfurt, Munich and Stuttgart) and captures the effects of trans-local action on local climate policy by analysing the action orientations and motives of these actors. The article contributes to the concept of knowledge orders in two ways: it supposes that local knowledge orders shape orientations towards trans-local action while this action simultaneously provides mechanisms for the transformation and reproduction of knowledge orders.