No.11 What Drives Implementation of City-Level Climate Action? Case Studies of Climate Change Action Plan at the Local Level in Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong City of Vietnam

In view of the growing recognition of the role of non-state actors as agents of implementation of addressing climate change under the Paris Agreement, this study sheds light on the measures taken by urban cities in developing countries. Beyond the process of formulating climate action plans reviewed in previous studies, this study aims to identify the factors that drive implementation of city-level climate action plans. To this end, the authors selected the Climate Change Action Plans (CCAP) of two leading cities in Vietnam, i.e., Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong City, and investigated the state of implementation based on the status of budget execution for the implementation measures listed in their CCAPs. As a result, the implementation status of the two cities was found to be significantly different. In order to identify the factors that brought about such results, the hypotheses, formulated based on relevant previous studies and adjusted for the Vietnamese context, were verified by empirical evidence. Among the seven possible factors examined, the authors identified the nature of measures expressed by concreteness and co-benefits, the commitment levels of local leaders, and local government institutional capacity as the key factors driving implementation. Based on the findings of the study, possible international support and domestic efforts are discussed as ways of addressing the implementation gaps in Vietnam.


Keywords: Cities; local climate change action plan; drivers of implementation; budget; co-benefits; effectiveness; Vietnam; Paris Agreement