Five dimensions of climate governance: a framework for empirical research based on polycentric and multi‐level governance perspectives

Governance of climate mitigation and adaptation has been discussed within polycentric and multi‐level governance perspectives. Both perspectives on climate governance are intimately related but yet in some regards are distinctly different ‐ as one perspective has evolved from empirical research within the United States and the other in the European Union. Within an increasingly global discourse on climate governance, there is a need in the literature to bring both discourses together. The findings are based on a systematic literature review of 42 climate governance papers published since 2000. This paper discusses how multi‐level and polycentric climate governance perspectives converge and diverge along five dimensions. The five dimensions provide insights for applying a multi‐level or polycentric governance perspective to empirical research.