Unpacking capacity for climate action: mechanisms shaping the effect of organisational capacity on policy implementation at the local level

In recent years, local governments have gained significant importance in the implementation of climate policy. Cities and municipalities offer place-based and context-specific solutions to climate-related and –specific problems. However, cities also often face an implementation challenge. Previous studies have consistently found a general influence of capacity as a key constraint for local governments. Scholars generally point to the influence of various forms of organisational capacity, namely human capacity, financial resources, community support, operational expertise, networks, political will or local autonomy. Yet, the empirical record shows mixed results: while organisational capacity does lead to successful climate action, both false negatives and false positives are also observed.
In light of the above, a closer look into the mechanisms linking organisational capacity and successful urban climate action is due. To that end, yielding more than 20 cases we explore both successful and unsuccessful climate action in medium-sized European cities, covering paradigmatic configurations of organisational capacity factors – that is, different typologies of a “capable” city. Preliminary results reveal mechanisms that manifest themselves across typologies. More interestingly, though, we also observe a number of typology-specific mechanisms and their respective implementation challenges. A good understanding of these mechanisms and how they relate to specific typologies of cities will be crucial in developing capacity-building and knowledge transfer schemes in the context of both national and transnational support for urban climate action. Its implications are important for cities so that they invest their scarce resources more efficiently and thereby reach climate neutrality targets faster.