Two paths colliding at one road: Integrating split municipal climate action agendas

Local governments are key players in the implementation of local climate action agendas. However, elements of these agendas such as the energy transition (ET) and climate adaptation (CA) are deployed along separate and potentially suboptimal trajectories. Yet, it is unclear what local governments need to do to integrate these trajectories. Therefore, this paper aims to understand; from an interpretivist perspective; how municipalities can integrate the et and CA trajectories. The population of interest in this study is neighbourhoods where Dutch municipalities integrate elements of the et and CA. Following that; 19 interviews with civil servants from a variety of backgrounds were conducted across three cases. The data was then coded into facilitating and hindering factors; as well as methods for coupling different issues. This study complements existing knowledge by showing that increased coordination between policy; design and asset management phases is also necessary for the integration of the et and CA. Additionally, this paper proposes two interventions to exemplify how municipalities can improve the coordination between implementation phases; proving that increasing coordination between implementation phases helps local governments in implementing their climate action agendas.