Influence of multilevel and polycentric governance structures on climate change mitigation and adaptation in 209 German municipalities

Studies have identified municipalities as key actors in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change. However, the level of municipal engagement in these policy areas varies widely, and little is known about how different multilevel and polycentric governance structures affect their performance. To address this gap, we examined the mitigation and adaptation commitments, plans and ambitions of 209 German municipalities until the end of 2022 and scored them using an updated and revised assessment framework. We then used one-factor ANOVAs and linear regressions to analyse how their scores relate to a municipality's location in a federal state, its belonging to a county, and its function in Germany's ‘central places’ system. Our results show that belonging to certain federal states can have both positive and negative effects, and belonging to a county is a significant negative factor for local adaptation, while the central places system exerts very little influence. Based on these findings, we suggest that more coordinated multilevel governance structures—as opposed to more fragmented polycentric arrangements—are more likely to trigger local climate action. As such, we call for further and more targeted support for municipalities, and a (more) active role for the federal states in supporting municipal policymaking.