Climate champions Sample Clauses

Climate champions. ‌ There is a small but growing literature on champions which proposes typologies for different champions within the realm of climate policy. Holgate (2007) differentiates between political champions, individuals who takes an idea or issue to a higher political level, and issue champions who promotes a climate change agenda within policy and practice, often empowered with technical knowledge. This framing is similar to that described above, articulated by Xxxxxx et al. (2011) who defines executive champions as those providing overarching political support for policy change based on their structural power and project champions as those who drive innovation on the ground in policy and practice. As influencers, champions can provide an interface between government and non-government actors. However, while civil society actors have a role to play in advocating for policy change (Xxxxx and Xxxx, 2008 in Xxxxxx et al, 2012), leadership from government actors– be it at the national, regional or global level – is paramount to ensuring policy change (Xxxxx and Xxxxx, 2005). Government bureaucrats in particular play a critical role in ensuring that the policy change that has been legislated is ultimately implemented in practice (Xxxxxx et al., 2012). Given that, much of the empirical research on champions in the context of climate policy is focused on government actors. 5 Figure re-produced with permission from rights holder, Elsevier. In a study of the climate change policies of the South African cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg, Holgate (2007) found that political champions (often the mayor) had the capacity to elevate issues to higher political levels within an institution and that doing so could provide the spark to initiate an institution’s engagement with climate change. However, the election cycle proved to be a barrier in that political champions are sometimes in office for a short time, requiring the process to begin again with a new mayor (Holgate, 2007). Another study in Durban, demonstrated how a project champion, the head of environmental management in the eThekwini Municipality, capitalized on capacity building opportunities to engage more in-depth in the science of climate change. Once it was understood that adaptation, not mitigation, was the priority for Durban, the manager set about securing support for adaptation initiatives through a climate risk assessment that demonstrated the need for adaptation (Xxxxxxx, 2008). Though support for the initi...