Local climate action in cooperation between local governments and local environmental civil society organizations : Acceleration axis of ambitious climate action? : The case of Muenster, DE

Germany has set out its sustainability targets, most prominently reaching climate neutrality by 2045. Often neglected with those targets, cities have an untapped potential to contribute to those goals. As the climate crisis accelerates in its severity, it becomes increasingly complex for local governments to adequately address it through local climate action. A solution: collaborative governance. Using the case of Muenster, a typical green aspiring city, the research question of this thesis has been: How participatory is the local climate action of the City of Muenster regarding the inclusion of local environmental civil society organizations? Different frameworks grounded in the broader governance literature and qualitative content analysis with policy documents and interviews with members of local environmental civil society organizations and a city administrator have been utilized. It has become apparent that participatory formats of the city resort rather to tokenism than to meaningful participation to legitimize a predetermined policy path. Innovations in participation and policies through those organizations are seen with skepticism due to the inertia of local governments relying on conventional governance structures and the hesitancy of the conservative city government. At the end, policy recommendations on how local governments bolster local climate action are provided.