Local Solutions to a Global Problem? Canadian Municipal Policy
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LOCAL SOLUTIONS TO A GLOBAL PROBLEM? CANADIAN MUNICIPAL POLICY RESPONSES TO CLIMATE CHANGE by Elizabeth Schwartz B.P.A.P.M., Carleton University, 2006 M.A., University of Toronto, 2008 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Political Science) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2016 © Elizabeth Schwartz, 2016 Abstract Urbanization and global warming are two of the most pressing issues facing humanity over the next 50 years. Why do some local governments enact more climate change mitigation policies than others? What makes some cities leaders in urban sustainability, while others lag far behind? Over the past decade, global climate change negotiations have repeatedly failed to produce binding commitments and robust responses by national governments. These failures have led academics and practitioners to put increasing emphasis on the potential for sub-national governments, including cities, to undertake commitments that might substitute for national action on climate change. Applying concepts from the comparative public policy literature to the study of urban politics, this dissertation puts forward and tests a new theory to explain variation in Canadian cities’ climate change policy. I find that political economy factors reduce the likelihood that cities will adopt climate change policy that will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but the presence of independent municipal environment departments makes the adoption of such policy more likely. This dissertation employs a systematic and explicit process tracing methodology. It examines the decision-making of four Canadian cities (Brampton, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver) across four policy areas (landfill gas management, fleet services, cycling infrastructure and building standards). The analysis is based on data gathered from primary and secondary sources and expert interviews with over 70 local politicians, bureaucrats, journalists, and NGO and business representatives. This dissertation argues that cities cannot solve the climate change challenge on their own, but knowledge of the dynamics of climate change mitigation policy adoption at the local level may permit scholars and practitioners to increase the effectiveness of municipal governments’ climate change policy choices. ii Preface I identified and designed this research program in consultation with my supervisory committee. The research conducted for this dissertation was approved by the UBC Behavioral Research Ethics Board, Certificate Number H11-01286. An early version of Chapter 6 has been published. Schwartz, Elizabeth. 2012. “Local Solutions to a Global Problem? A Study of Climate Change Policymaking in Vancouver” in Local Climate Change Law: Environmental Regulation in Cities and Other Localities, Benjamin J. Richardson, ed. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing. I conducted all of the research, data analysis, and writing of the manuscript for this publication. iii Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ii Preface ........................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ ix List of Figures .................................................................................................................................x List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................... xi Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... xiv Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................1 1.1 Establishing Variation in Municipal Climate Change Policy across Canadian Cities.... 4 1.2 Literature Review.......................................................................................................... 12 1.2.1 Local Climate Change Literature .............................................................................. 13 1.2.2 Urban Politics Literature ........................................................................................... 18 1.2.2.1 From Community Power to Urban Regimes .................................................... 19 1.2.2.2 Local Autonomy ............................................................................................... 24 1.2.3 A History of Canadian Municipalities ...................................................................... 26 1.2.3.1 Canadian Municipal Institutions ....................................................................... 33 1.3 Structure of the Dissertation ......................................................................................... 40 Chapter 2: A Theory of Municipal Climate Change Policy Adoption ....................................41 2.1 Specifying the Dependent Variable .............................................................................. 42 2.2 Why is There Variation in the Climate Policy Adopted by Cities? .............................. 45 2.2.1 Political Economy Context ....................................................................................... 46 2.2.2 Sources of Climate Policy Variation......................................................................... 58 iv 2.2.2.1 Independent Environment Departments ........................................................... 59 2.2.3 Alternative Explanations ........................................................................................... 67 2.2.3.1 Policy Champions ............................................................................................. 67 2.2.3.2 Intergovernmental Climate Change Networks.................................................. 71 2.2.3.3 Municipal Electoral Systems ............................................................................ 73 2.2.3.4 Federalism and Provincial Dominance ............................................................. 76 2.3 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 79 Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology .........................................................................82 3.1 Testing the Theory ........................................................................................................ 82 3.1.1 Process Tracing ......................................................................................................... 84 3.1.1.1 Process Tracing Tests ....................................................................................... 88 3.1.2 Data Collection ......................................................................................................... 95 3.2 Case Selection ............................................................................................................. 102 3.2.1 Different Cities, Different Contexts ........................................................................ 103 3.2.2 The Specific Policy Areas ....................................................................................... 112 3.2.2.1 Landfill Gas Capture ....................................................................................... 118 3.2.2.2 Building Standards .......................................................................................... 121 3.2.2.3 Fleet Management ........................................................................................... 125 3.2.2.4 Bicycle Infrastructure...................................................................................... 126 3.3 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 130 Chapter 4: Brampton, Ontario .................................................................................................131 4.1 Setting the Baseline..................................................................................................... 131 4.2 A Profile of the City of Brampton .............................................................................. 132 v 4.3 Political Economy Factors, Environment Departments and Alternative Hypotheses 134 4.3.1 Political Economy Factors ...................................................................................... 134 4.3.2 Independent Environment Departments ................................................................. 140 4.3.3 Alternative Explanations ......................................................................................... 143 4.3.3.1 Policy Champions ........................................................................................... 143 4.3.3.2 Inter-Urban Climate Change Networks .......................................................... 148 4.3.3.3 Electoral Systems ............................................................................................ 149 4.4 Testing the Hypotheses in Specific Policy Areas ......................................................