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Paradiplomacy of cities in the Global South and multilevel climate governance: evidence from Brazil

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Abstract

Multilevel climate governance (MCG) makes room for multiple non-state actors, including subnational governments, to engage actively in international activities that are conceptualised as paradiplomacy. As climate urgency increases, subnational climate actions have expanded through transnational networks and have attracted ample studies, primarily on such practices in Europe and North America. This study, as a response, aims to expand knowledge of city diplomacy in less-studied developing countries and uses Brazil as one example. It examines climate policies in Brazilian cities, particularly in four cases (Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and São Paulo) to understand their roles in global climate governance and how their paradiplomatic activities through transnational municipal networks (TMNs) affect the municipal and national agendas. Our research demonstrates that even though Brazil’s federative model has fallen short of adequately integrating cities into the national climate agenda, national and transnational municipal networks have been essential to building capacities, disseminating good practices and influencing climate policy at the national level. It further reflects on how to improve the dialogue with the federal level in the context of developing countries and to obtain support for climate-related urban initiatives while contributing to implementing international climate commitments.

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Fig. 1

Source: Authors´ own

Fig. 2

Source: SEEG, (n.d.). https://plataforma.seeg.eco.br/total_emission

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Data availability statement

Data are available upon request.

Notes

  1. In this article, we refer to States as persons of international law that are members of the United Nations, with decision-making power in the international climate arena. Likewise, we consider non-state actors (NSAs) and any other institutional participants in global climate governance, influencing national and international policy bodies on the environment and climate agendas at multiple scales of interaction (Abbott, 2012; Ostrom, 2009; Setzer et. al., 2015). NSAs encompass subnational governments, international governmental and non-governmental organizations, multinational or transnational companies, cooperation agencies, and epistemic communities, among others, collaborating across national borders.

  2. Founded in 2002 as nrg4SD—Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development, it became Region4 in 2019 and represents regional governments.

  3. The GCMCE resulted from the 2017 merger between the EU-funded Covenant of Mayors, created in 2008, and the former Compact of Mayors established in 2014.

  4. Salvador was Brazil’s first capital, from 1549 to 1763.

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Acknowledgement

We acknowledge the institutional support of the IEE/USP that enabled us to undertake this study during the period to obtain the Laura S V de Macedo´s Ph.D. degree in environmental management at the University of São Paulo (2013-2017). We also thank FGV EAESP institutional support to her post-doctoral research fellowship (2019–2022).

Funding

This article was written within the project Understanding Innovative Initiatives for Governing Food, Water and Energy Nexus in Cities (IFWEN) supported by JPI Urban Europe/JPI UE: [11221480]; and the Belmont Forum [NEXUS2016: 152]; the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) Grant No. 2017/50425–9 to José A. Puppim de Oliveira; and Grant No. 2018/20714–1 to Laura S. V. de Macedo. Additional support to the IFWEN project was provided by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), process number 88887.310379/2018–00, and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), process number 311282/2016–4.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Estudos de Infraestrutura e Soluções Ambientais (CEISA), Fundação Getulio Vargas, (FGV EAESP), Rua Itapeva 474, Room 712 (GEP), 10th Floor, Bela Vista, São Paulo, SP, CEP: 01332-000, Brazil

    Laura S. Valente de Macedo & Jose A. Puppim de Oliveira

  2. Centro de Síntese USP - Instituto de Estudos Avançados (IEA), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), R. do Anfiteatro, 513, Butantã, São Paulo, SP, 05508-060, Brasil

    Laura S. Valente de Macedo

  3. Instituto de Energia e Ambiente (IEE), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, Brazil

    Pedro Roberto Jacobi

  4. Instituto de Estudos Avançados (IEA), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto, 1289 - Vila Universitaria, São Paulo, SP, 05508-900, Brazil

    Pedro Roberto Jacobi

  5. Institute for Global Public Policy (IGPP), Fudan University, Shanghai, China

    Jose A. Puppim de Oliveira

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  1. Laura S. Valente de Macedo
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de Macedo, L.S.V., Jacobi, P.R. & de Oliveira, J.A.P. Paradiplomacy of cities in the Global South and multilevel climate governance: evidence from Brazil. GPPG 3, 86–115 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43508-023-00060-7

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