Abstract
There is a growing recognition that successfully managing the transformation towards a net zero carbon world as established through the climate goals of the recent Paris Agreement is an exercise of multilevel governance. Only through strong action at all levels, with close coordination across actors from the international scale down to countries, firms and individuals, might such ambitious goals be met (figure 1). Triggered by the slow progress in international climate policy over the last two decades, cities and local governments have teamed-up to combat climate change from the bottom up: thousands have developed and implemented local climate action plans. Yet, little is known about the impact those measures had on reducing emissions (Seto et al 2014).
