Fabiana Barbi

Climate change challenges and China’s response: mitigation and governance

Abstract China clearly matters when it comes to global efforts to mitigate climate change and any successful international efforts to stabilize greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions must inevitably include the country. In terms of climate change responses, it is argued that governments are important actors that play a key role in defining appropriate rules, institutions and modes of governance to meet these changes at different levels and scales and in enforcing the defined rules and regulations. This article presents a detailed case study aimed at the analysis of how Chinese policies and governance structures related to climate change have evolved over the past 20 years, particularly from 1992 to 2015, and how they have influenced Chinese GHG emissions during this period.

Climate Change in Brazilian Cities: Policy Strategies and Responses to Global Warming

Abstract —Local governments play a key role developing and implementing public policies to mitigate and to adapt to climate change. This paper aims to analyze how Brazilian cities are responding to climate change in terms of policy strategies and instruments. The methodological steps cover five characteristics of these policies: 1. Mitigation goals; 2. Adaptation actions; 3. Participation of different segments of society; 4. Multi-sectorial policy implementation; 5. Government participation in networks related to climate change. Our findings suggest that local climate policies in Brazil are isolated initiatives within the national context. The strongest Brazilian policies with both mitigation and adaptation actions counted on a previous mobilization for the climate issue involving different actors from several segments of the society. These cities have also participated in transnational cooperation networks related to climate change. Certainly these factors favored the adoption of laws by those governments. Most laws have multi-sectorial nature of implementation, an important factor considering the climate issue that is related to different sectors of government action.

Risks and political responses to climate change in Brazilian coastal cities

Climate change is characterized as one of the most pressing issues in the twenty-first century. There are still many uncertainties related to the rapidity of these changes and how devastating they will be. It is recognized that climate change poses a major threat to important development issues such as water supply, food security, human health, natural resources and protection against natural hazards. Thus, modern society is challenged to manage growing risks and threats. In terms of responses to risks posed by climate change, it has been argued that governments are important actors that play a key role setting regulations, institutions and appropriate modes of governance in order to address these risks at different levels and scales. This article investigates whether climate change risks have promoted the construction of a climate agenda in some Brazilian coastal cities and analyses how climate change risks are being framed by local governments in terms of policy strategies and instruments in these cities. The analysed cities do not have specific climate strategies, but climate change risks have been addressed by local governments in their different sectors of activity. Our findings suggest that the responses to climate-related risks are blended with the responses to problems typically faced by local governments, such as floods, irregular land occupation, landslides on hillside areas, among others, which can be exacerbated by climate change. These responses are not in step with governmental actors’ perceptions and concerns, particularly with regard to risks related to sea level rise. In this sense, multi-level and intersectoral responses are required.