5.6. Building Global Urban Partnerships

increasing public communication and transparency.271 An example of co-production in urban environmental planning is the formulation of the Barcelona climate plan, where co-production opened up the use of new digital platforms to involve citizens, but also raised practical challenges (e.g. with regards to the timing of citizen input, unequal knowledge of participants, and confusion about the meaning of co-production).272

Partnership-based approaches bring different social groups (authorities on multiple government levels, businesses, NGOs, community associations) into urban governance. Urban partnerships exist in a range of organizational forms, including more or less formal arrangements, such as contractual arrangements between public and private actors for infrastructure and ser vice deliver y (i.e., publicprivate partnerships, policy coalitions, advisor y boards and panels, jointly managed programmes and international networks.273 Partnerships represent a governance strategy that draws on the strengths of different social groups, including capacities for innovation and investment of the private sector and abilities of community engagement and responsiveness of social issues of civil society.

Urban decision-making can also operate through different forms of synergies with activist movements. The inclusion of multiple perspectives in environmental decisionmaking occurs through collaboration and contestation and conflict, even agonism and strife.274 Activist groups play a crucial role in urban environmental politics, including introducing new issues into decision-making agendas, drawing attention to existing forms of injustice, and participating in neighbourhood projects— as long illustrated by environmental justice movements.275 The recent wave of global youth protests in climate politics such as Fridays for Future, Extinction Rebellion and the Sunrise Movement highlights the importance of demonstrations in environmental politics.

The engagement of grassroots organizations, community groups and international environmental movements played a crucial role in adopting declarations of climate emergency by local authorities around the world.276 The rising awareness of the complex interconnections between multiple forms of social and environmental injustice, such as the links between racism, environmental justice and state violence,277 creates a renewed sense of urgency for activist groups and social movements in urban environmental decision-making processes. 5.6. Building Global Urban Partnerships

The events of the last two years, raising concerns about climate change and the need to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, have highlighted the need for a global partnership for sustainable development. This is a moment like no other to facilitate cooperation and global solidarities.278 Building partnerships requires an enabling environment capable of sustaining long-term initiatives that recognize ever y actor, from youth activists to private-sector corporations, as part of the solution.279

Climate politics is dominated by multilateralism, as the UNFCCC orchestrate efforts via voluntar y agreements and nationally determined contributions.280 However, the impact of these efforts requires examining action on the ground and gaps between voluntar y commitments and emission reductions needed to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement persist.281 Subnational actors not only can provide additional emission reductions to bridge this gap282 but also can influence global partnerships and advancing global development agendas. 283

Transnational municipal networks (TMNs) facilitate the cooperation on climate change between local governments and other subnational institutions, including regions, and non-state actors that can stir up climate action at the local level.284 These networks have harnessed cities capacities to create a new scene of global environmental governance. 285 City networks cast local governments as mediators between global concerns and place-based solutions.286

TNMs are most often voluntar y and non-hierarchical organizations.287 While there is a variety of models of TMNs, multinational membership is a shared characteristic.288 Membership of transnational municipal networks is more common in Europe and North America, but many have global reach.289 TMNs support cities to create and implement policy and planning, practices and voluntar y standards that support emission reductions and address vulnerabilities.290 Gaining influence in international arenas is a key motivation for cities to join TNMs.291

City networks cast local governments as mediators between global concerns and place-based solutions