SOUTH AFRICAN CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION POLITICS: URBAN GOVERNANCE PROSPECTS

Abstract

The combination of voluntary approaches to climate change policy and a growing interest in local action on climate change has supported climate change politics where multiple forms of governance, rather than a regulatory understanding of governing, play a fundamental role in addressing the challenges. Intermediaries such as business, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and communities play a profound role towards climate change and governance in urban areas, and subsequently offer the local government with an innovation potential. However, urban areas are also a site of political struggle where climate change politics manifest. Conflicting political ideologies create a problem in terms of climate change adaptation policy formulation and implementation. The discussion surrounding the notion of urban governance is intrinsically linked to discourses about who has the responsibility to deliver climate change action to participate in acts of governing. The paper argues that urban governance as a complementary mechanism rather than a principal means of addressing climate change requires a multi-stakeholder engagement to palliate climate politics that derail local actions towards addressing climate change. The paper concludes that a multilevel and urban governance approach has the potential to palliate the lack of knowledge about climate change, thereby changing the entrenched ideologies to ensure adaptability towards climate change. 

Keywords

• Urban governance; Multi-level governance; Climate change adaptation

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