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PurposeThis study aims to analyze city networks as they face the challenges of global warming. It seeks to introduce the notion of "governance from the middle" as an alternative to traditional intergovernmental policy. This is developed by focusing on the particular experiences of the C40 Cities Leadership Group and discussing its prospects and risks.Design/methodology/approachCCI works with a number of commercial banks, institutional investors, international financial institutions and other capital providers to design financing programmes and source capital.FindingsThe C40 Group illustrates some fundamental traits of city networks with a hybrid governance structure, combining traditional public institutional structures with market‐based arrangements, organizationally and qualitatively governing from the middle. Critical factors in this dynamic are the use of an external implementing body, providing new organizational opportunities for the network, and the prominence given to an integrated procurement process, which develops incentive structures for action and effectively connects actors at various levels of society. The latter emphasis on market‐incentives as a template for action is an innovative governance feature but not the panacea many want. The complex nature of the governance arrangement itself, the structural asymmetries among its members, and the diversified set of issues the network intends to address are all factors that remain to be researched.Originality/valueThe study provides new perspectives on the conceptual discussions about governance by introducing the notion of "governance from the middle". These allow us in turn to continue research about the role of market‐arrangements in linking global and local ambitions. This could have a decisive policy impact on climate governance in general.

Using policy cycle model as a heuristic, this article studies Indian, Brazilian, and South African engagement with Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) by (a) comparing NAMA policy process and (b) identifying factors driving or limiting the framework's domestic application. India largely remained uninterested in NAMAs, Brazil aligned its domestic climate policy and NAMAs, while South Africa had a more nuanced engagement when formulating NAMAs. Four factors influenced these countries' NAMA engagements: the level and necessity of international support, the availability of domestic policy provisions to tackle climate change, the domestic institutional capacity to coordinate interministerial functioning, and the role of individuals in the institutional apparatus. As an international climate policy framework, studying NAMA engagement provides learnings for nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement for designing the instrument, ensuring clarity on support provisions for ratcheting up ambitions, and enhancing institutional capacity, to expedite transition from policy formulation to implementation and beyond.

Siden 2009 har Brasilien, Sydafrika, Indien og Kina – de såkaldte BASIC-lande – samarbejdet i de internationale klimaforhandlinger. Dette afspejler deres stræben efter en større indflydelse på den globale politik. Men der er nogle der hævder at gruppens fremgangsmåde har blokeret for fremskridt i forhandlingerne. Dette er dog en overfladisk betragtning. Hvis man ønsker en reel indsigt i BASIC-gruppens fremgangsmåde, er det nødvendigt at forstå udviklingsproblemerne i hvert enkelt land og den geopolitiske værdi som de ser i et samarbejde. Der er tale om fire forskellige lande, og derfor er det de indenrigspolitiske prioriteringer som definerer grænserne for deres samarbejde, og hvad de kan bidrage med i klimadiskussionerne. Denne rapport, som Nordisk Ministerråd har bestilt fra Stockholm Environment Institute, giver en mere nuanceret forståelse for BASIC-samarbejdet. En sådan forståelse er af afgørende betydning hvis de internationale klimaforhandlinger skal lykkes.

PurposeThe goal of this paper is to enhance consideration for the potential for institutions of higher education throughout the world, in different cultures and contexts, to be change agents for sustainability. As society faces unprecedented and increasingly urgent challenges associated with accelerating environmental change, resource scarcity, increasing inequality and injustice, as well as rapid technological change, new opportunities for higher education are emerging.Design/methodology/approachThe paper builds on the emerging literature on transition management and identifies five critical issues to be considered in assessing the potential for higher education as a change agent in any particular region or place. To demonstrate the value of these critical issues, exemplary challenges and opportunities in different contexts are provided.FindingsThe five critical issues include regional‐specific dominant sustainability challenges, financing structure and independence, institutional organization, the extent of democratic processes, and communication and interaction with society.Originality/valueGiven that the challenges and opportunities for higher education as a change agent are context‐specific, identifying, synthesizing, and integrating common themes is a valuable and unique contribution.