Think Global, Act Local

The research examines whether sub-national governments can effectively manage transboundary climate risks, as opposed to the traditional focus on nation-states. Through case studies in Paris, Klepp, and the Upper Rhine region, the authors find that while local authorities are interested in these risks, their capacity to lead is uncertain. However, the paper warns that leaving transboundary risk management solely to national governments may create conflicts with local adaptation measures. Consequently, the authors advocate for strong partnerships between public and private stakeholders across all levels of governance and call for national governments to explicitly define the role of sub-national authorities in managing these risks.

• While sub-national actors in the studied cases demonstrated a strong interest in managing transboundary climate risks, it is unclear if they can or should hold the same central role in these efforts as they do for local climate risks.
• Assigning the management of transboundary climate risks exclusively to national governments may lead to conflicts with local climate risk reduction measures, which are typically handled by sub-national authorities.
• The authors recommend a strong partnership between public and private stakeholders across various governance levels and urge national governments to explicitly integrate transboundary climate risks into national agendas to determine the appropriate role for sub-national authorities.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2024). Think Global, Act Local. https://www.sei.org/publications/think-global-act-local/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Think Global, Act Local. 2024. https://www.sei.org/publications/think-global-act-local/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Think Global, Act Local |date=15 January 2024 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/think-global-act-local/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2024think, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Think Global, Act Local}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2024}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/think-global-act-local/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }