Multilevel Governance and the Unequal Geographies of Green Investments

Leon Wansleben

In recent years, an increasing number of local authorities in Europe and around the world have declared climate emergencies and adopted local “net zero” goals. Meanwhile, calls for investment in local infrastructure for climate change mitigation and adaptation have grown. After decades of underinvestment, most places today need new or smarter local energy grids, water supply and sewage systems, public transport, and energy-efficient public buildings. How do local administrative and political actors address this tremendous challenge, and how do structural and institutional contexts shape their fiscal and organizational capacities for public green investments? Under which conditions can “green” local governance coalitions mobilize support for such investments, and how do the chosen climate mitigation/adaptation measures relate to local social and economic interests and demands? The project looks at these questions by combining fiscal with urban sociology. It studies local authorities in the United Kingdom and Germany using diverse quantitative and qualitative case study methods, including quantitative fiscal data, original surveys, and local ethnographies.