Global Public Policy and Governance - Call for Papers: Low Carbon Urban Governance

Call for Papers: 

Call for proposals: Low Carbon Urban Governance (this opens in a new tab)

Guest Editors

Prof. Martin de Jong, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands, w.m.jong@law.eur.nl 
Dr. Haiyan Lu, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China, haiyanlu@hit.edu.cn (this opens in a new tab)
Dr. Wenting Ma, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China, mawenting@hit.edu.cn

Proposal submission deadline: 1 Mar 2023

Full Manuscript submission deadline: 15 Sep 2023

Aims and Scope

A growing number of countries are committing to more ambitious carbon reduction targets to achieve a 1.5 degrees Celsius global temperature reduction needed to fight climate change. The IPCC sixth assessment report argued that “to limit global warming, strong, rapid, and sustained reductions in CO2, methane, and other greenhouse gases are necessary. This would reduce not only the consequences of climate change but also improve air quality.” To mitigate climate change, nations have set explicit targets for reducing GHG emissions, and urban experiments have been selected to realize these targets locally (Bulkeley et al., 2014). Low-carbon urban experiments can take place on different scales, including in cities, towns, districts, neighbourhoods and industrial zones. The systematic approach offered by a low-carbon urban experiment creates a testbed to overcome the barriers faced in single-project implementation and pursue an integrated low-carbon pathway (World Bank, 2014). Low-carbon development strategies also allow urban experiments to position themselves as major players in climate change mitigation and set an example for developing national emission reduction policies (Wang et al., 2015). Low-carbon urban experiments aim to reach low-carbon targets themselves, to some extent, as well as to foster replications and inspire other places to institutionalize the exemplary practices demonstrated (Urrutia-Azcona et al., 2020). 

These low carbon urban experiments cannot be implemented in a void, but happen through actors with policy resources. Many studies have discussed climate change policies (what should be done) and the political drivers of climate action (why something should be done), turned attention away from climate actions and governance strategies on the local level. As low carbon urban experiments have been tested in many cities globally in the past decades, it is necessary to review the successful factors and barriers in governing low carbon transition. 

This special issue aims to gather contributions that analyse the governance of low carbon transition issues at the local level in different countries. We invite submissions that introduce novel ideas and evidence-based policy recommendations to improve global low carbon transition governance. Interdisciplinary research papers on relevant topics that combine different theoretical and methodological approaches are particularly welcome.
 

The special issue may cover the following and even broader topics:

Theories of governance in low carbon transitions

Environmental crises as opportunities for updated governance practices in low carbon transitions

Low carbon, eco and sponge cities as testbed for low carbon development

Coordination and integration of global and local low carbon policies

Role of international organizations and non-state actors in low carbon transition

Comparative studies of governance in low carbon transition

Case studies about low carbon urban experiments

Submission Instructions 

Proposals (500-600 words) should be submitted to Haiyan Lu (luhaiyan@hit.edu.cn) by 1 Mar 2023.

Proposals should comprise the working title of the paper, research questions, methodology, and initially expected findings. Follow-up responses will be emailed to proposal authors.

Authors of accepted proposals will be invited to submit full draft papers to by Haiyan Lu. The drafts will be assessed and commented on by the editors, Then revised papers will be submitted to the journal for double-blind peer review. Papers submitted to Global Public Policy and Governance shall apply an APA referencing style and have a length less than 10,000 words. 

Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you have carefully read the submission guidelines (this opens in a new tab). The complete manuscript should be submitted through the submission system. (this opens in a new tab) To ensure that you submit to the correct thematic series please select the appropriate thematic series in the drop-down menu upon submission. In addition, indicate within your cover letter that you wish your manuscript to be considered as part of "Low carbon urban governance ". All submissions will undergo rigorous peer review and accepted articles will be published within the journal as a collection.

Reviewers should follow Springer Nature’s and the journal‘s more detailed Peer-Review Policy (this opens in a new tab).

Accepted papers may be published in late 2023 or early 2024.

Further Information

Questions may be addressed by email to any of the guest editors haiyanlu@hit.edu.cn (this opens in a new tab) or w.m.jong@law.eur.nl or mawenting@hit.edu.cn.