Climate governance with an emphasis on the urban context: A systematic literature review

Background: Strategies to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change are an urgent need, recognized even by the United Nations (UN). City governance plays a central role in this context. Purpose: The general objective of this study was identify empirical evidence on the relationship between the climate agenda and city governance. Furthermore, the specific objectives were to identify the main related constructs; describe the main climate governance strategies identified; identify the contributions of this field of study to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and build a research agenda for future research. Method: The study presented a mixed approach method, with the integration of quantitative and qualitative analyses during the Systematic Literature Review. Results: The results showed a greater alignment of climate governance strategies with adaptation initiatives, to the detriment of mitigation strategies, which indicates a certain deficiency in climate governance in this regard. A significant range of studies presented contributions to SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, ratifying the importance of cities in discussions on climate governance. The agenda for future studies highlighted the broad nature of discussions on governance and climate change. Conclusions: The study presented contributions to academia and managers, by expanding the literature on the understanding of the relationship between governance and climate strategies and offering potential insights for public managers, which can be used in decision-making, by demonstrating the need for greater balance between adaptation and mitigation measures in cities' climate strategies.