Understanding the science-policy interface in urban climate governance from a co-production perspective: Insights from the cases of Hamburg and São Paulo

Abstract

Urban governance, the interplay of governmental bodies with other actors shaping decision-making and its implementation, plays a key role for mitigation and adaptation measures in cities. While knowledge co-production is advanced as an instrumental approach to support climate action, a gap between knowledge and implementation persists. The objective of the article is to better understand the complex nature of urban climate governance with which science – through data and people – is expected to interplay with. We introduce a framework, based on the analytical lens of co-production, to unpack the entanglements of rules and norms, interests and visions, knowledge and capacities in a particular local context in order to identify aspects that may encourage meaningful knowledge co-production. We build upon two cities as case studies: Hamburg, Germany and São Paulo, Brazil. We present the results of interviews in dialogue with insights from city documents and an online workshop. We found that even though data and expertise is available, its use remains unsystematic, while climate action is mostly hampered by missing political capacity, silo mentalities, and a structural lack of resources. We identified a paradox where social transformation is addressed by technocratic solutions and a high appreciation for mutual learning in knowledge co-production processes. We conclude that to make use of its transformative potential, the implementation of knowledge co-production for climate action in practice needs to become more holistic. This includes the integration of non-climate information linked to local concerns and values as well as a shift in focus from output to its procedural benefits.