Local Climate Action Plans in France: Emergence, Limitations and Conditions for Success

ABSTRACT A growing number of local governments worldwide are addressing climate change by locally developed climate action plans (CAPs). In this paper, we analyse the first generation of voluntary and partnership‐based CAPs in France. On the basis of data collected from Grenoble Alpes Métropole and other French pioneer cities, we try to find out what the experiences of these pioneer cities teach us about the triggering factors, the scope, the limitations and the conditions for success of CAPs. Our study shows that CAPs help to raise awareness about climate and energy issues and to bring local stakeholders together to develop shared solutions suited to local specificities. However, they do not seem to launch ambitious operations conducted in a cross‐cutting manner. Their effective implementation depends on the resources available to authorities, as well as the incentives and support that they receive. Moreover, meeting the CAP targets requires the authorities' ability to promote and utilize partnerships to mobilize all local potential for energy efficiency and GHG emission reduction. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.