282 ■ CITIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE
the imperative, only a small number of cities have initiated the adaptation
planning process. Drawing on theories of diff usion and capacity and empiri-
cal assessments of initiatives in Durban, South Africa, and Quito, Ecuador,
this paper examines two questions: What is driving cities to initiate climate
adaptation planning? and What is enabling the eff orts of early adapters to take
root? Scholars argue that incentives from external sources such as regula-
tions and funder requirements, the diff usion of international knowledge and
norms, and the presence of suffi cient capacity are critical drivers of subna-
tional change in the policy and planning arenas. However, rather than being
driven by external pressures, the early adapters examined in this study were
motivated by internal incentives, ideas, and knowledge generated through
local demonstration projects and local networks and the means to link adap-
tation to ongoing programs and to enlist the support of diverse stakeholders
from within the city.
Governance and Climate Change: Assessing and Learning from
Canadian Cities
Christopher Gore, Pamela Robinson, and Richard Stren
Canada hosted one of the fi rst international meetings to address climate
change in 1988. Th e Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere helped
focus the attention of national governments on the emerging international
challenge presented by rising concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmo-
sphere. But in Canada, this event did not translate into national leadership to
address climate change. Many pragmatic reasons exist to explain why Canada
has been ineff ective at reducing emissions, particularly the size of the country
and the associated use of automobile and truck transportation to cover long
distances, as well as its cold climate. Political and intergovernmental reasons
are also signifi cant.
Th ough national leadership on climate change action has been lacking,
Canadian cities are national and international leaders in climate action. Th is
paper examines and explains why Canadian cities have taken action to reduce
GHG emissions, while also adapting to and mitigating climate change. Th e
paper also inventories the activities of select medium to large Canadian cities
(populations between 300,000 and 2.5 million). Th e paper off ers a simple yet
unique approach to analyzing action. Action is classifi ed as an initiative, out-
put, or outcome.
Using this approach to understand the climate action of Canadian cities pro-
vides an opportunity to draw lessons about the character of these early and
ongoing leaders and to identify the specifi c actions of Canadian cities. Th e ini-
tiatives documented include shorter-term technical actions and medium- and