Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Local governments have become major players and innovators in climate change policy. They work across regions and agencies to adopt climate adaptation and mitigation policies. However, as the lowest level of government in American society, local governments face considerable limitations brought about by state and federal policies. This is characteristic of the multi-layered nature of the American federalist system. Building on the institutional analysis and development framework, we explain the degree to which state climate policies influence local government mitigation and adaptation plans. The study employs a unique dataset of public organizations at the city, county and state levels that are engaged in climate change policymaking and implementation. We use multi-level modeling to take into account state institutions in addition to geographic and regional features that influence climate policy. Our findings contribute to the federalism literature by exploring the challenges of layered governance and the relationships between and across levels of government. Additionally, our findings present important lessons for states and local governments managing the challenges of climate change in a federalist system.