Can Cities, States and Regions Save Our Planet?

This book examines the potential for cities, states and regions to take decisive action on climate change at the local level. Local action constitutes an essential component of global efforts to keep temperatures below the 2°C Paris Agreement threshold. Focusing on three green municipal leaders - New York, Boston and Paris - this volume examines their multilevel interactions with higher governance echelons in the United States and France. Even though these countries are located on different continents, similar patterns emerge on both sides of the Atlantic. This book explores the key role of municipalities and sub-state entities in shaping the climate policy agenda vis-à-vis national governments in the US and France. It argues that inadequate articulation of multilevel governance may jeopardize efforts to limit global temperature increase below the 2°C threshold by the end of the century.

“This compelling study on climate change governance is a must-read for academics, policy makers and the general public. The book offers original new research from a broad range of case studies at multiple echelons in both the US and France. Barichella convincingly demonstrates that multilevel governance matters. Climate policy coordination between cities, states, regions and national governments is critical if we are to keep global temperatures below the 2°C Paris Agreement threshold by the end of the century.” (Dr. Patrick Schembri, Associate professor – Economics (Sustainable Dev | Climate Change | Energy Transition), Research Center CEARC | Institute for Sustainable Energy Paris-Saclay (Scientific Coordinator for Social Sciences & Humanities - Sustainable Development))

“Dr. Arnault Barichella’s rich treatise constitutes an important advance on the timely topic of combatting climate change. It provides an exemplary and detailed guide to the means by which cities,states and regions can mobilise and take timely action to mitigate and protect against climate change at the local level. Its comparative review of three metropoles - Paris, New York and Boston, is appropriately contextualised by a detailed analysis of the underlying regulatory framework and legal culture within which each of those locations operates. This is a valuable resource for individuals and organisations seeking to take meaningful action to protect the environment from the impacts of humankind.” (Dr. Matthew Gillett, Ph.D., FHEA Senior Lecturer, University of Essex Law School, United Nations Special Mandate Holder - Vice-Chair of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Co-editor of The Hartford Guidelines on Speech Crimes in International Criminal Law (PJI, 2017), Author of Prosecuting Environmental Harm before the International Criminal Court (CUP, 2022))

“Arnault Barichella brings a note of hope, at a time when the dire consequences of climate change can be felt everywhere. Combining a thorough study of climate change policies at all levels and in-depth interviews with experts and public officials in three large municipalities, Paris, New York and Boston, he brilliantly shows how local actors, especially cities, can save the planet. The book to read.” (Dr. Nonna Mayer, Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics, Sciences Po Paris/CNRS)

Arnault Barichella is a post-doctoral researcher with the Institute for Sustainable Energy at the Université Paris-Saclay, where he works on local climate policies and hybrid hydrogen engines. He received his PhD in Political Science from Sciences Po Paris, with a thesis comparing multilevel climate governance in the US and France; he is an affiliated researcher at Sciences Po’s Center for European Studies. Arnault obtained his Masters’ degree from Sciences Po Paris, his BA degree from Oxford University, and was awarded a visiting fellowship at Harvard University.