Science and institution building in urban climate-change policymaking

As cities develop climate-change policies, they are likely to engage with and produce new science and information. What influences the choices cities make about this engagement? Our aim is to understand the differences in the ways city governments structure their relationship to climate-change science and expertise, and the extent to which these choices reflect broader governance orientations towards climate change as a policy area. The climate-change policy processes of Delhi and Mexico City are used as case studies. The two cities have made different choices about the structure and formality of the science-policy interface, and demonstrate that policymakers' choices about engaging scientific expertise are embedded in broader administrative and political systems. Examining the science-policy dynamics in urban climate-change policy suggests ways forward for future research, as there are likely to be political and policy consequences and trade-offs with different approaches to structuring the science-policy interface.