Climate Change Integration in the Multilevel Governance of Italy and Austria: Shaping Subnational Policies in the Transport, Energy, and Spatial Planning Sectors

How can subnational governments best integrate climate change considerations across policy areas? Which factors contribute to successful integration?

With a specific focus on transport, spatial planning policies, and energy and water in selected cases located at the border of the Alpine region between Italy and Austria, this volume shows that coordination (vertical and horizontal), public participation and information, leadership, and dedicated funding play fundamental and interlinked roles in climate change policy integration.

Federica Cittadino (PhD 2017, University of Trento) is Senior Researcher in Environmental Law and Policy, at the Institute for Comparative Federalism, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy. She is an expert of the multilevel governance of climate change, biodiversity, the interplay between environmental law and human rights, participation in environmental decision-making, environmental justice, and the actors of global environmental governance. Federica was the project leader of the research project ‘Climate change integration in the multilevel governance of Italy and Austria’ (Research Südtirol 2019), from which this edited volume originates.

Louisa Parks (PhD 2009, European University Institute) is Associate Professor in Political Sociology at the University of Trento’s School of International Studies and Department of Sociology and Social Research. Her previous research has focused on global environmental governance, global civil society, citizen participation and collective action, the activism and participation of indigenous peoples and local communities in environmental governance. Her latest book, Benefit-sharing in Environmental Governance: local experiences of a global concept, was published in open access by Routledge in 2020.

Peter Bußjäger is Full Professor at the Department of Public Law, State and Administrative Sciences of the University of Innsbruck. He is the head of the Institute of Federalism in Innsbruck and also member of the Constitutional Court of the Principality of Liechtenstein and member (for Liechtenstein) of the Venice Commission. He is also member of the Group of Independent Experts of the Council of Europe on the Charter of Local Self Government. His main research fields are federalism in the European multi-levelled system, administrative theory and environmental protection law.

Francesca Rosignoli (PhD 2016) is Junior Global Horizons Fellow at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS) and postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Public Law at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Spain). Her research interests include environmental justice, global environmental governance, climate change, climate-induced migration, and collective capabilities. Her current research focuses on the role of gender and justice in climate-induced migration. Her latest monograph, Environmental Justice for Climate Refugees, was published by Routledge in May 2022.