Urban and rural policies and the climate change issue: the French experience of governance

Abstract : This article describes and analyses each level of governance relevant to address climate mitigation within France. This refers either to climate policies or to measures adopted for other reasons but which impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The first part describes the French context related to GHG emissions to emphasize the importance of taking into account local specificities when considering the determinants of GHG emissions. The second part analyses the framework of French governance relevant to climate mitigation at the national and at the local levels to emphasize tools at the disposal of local authorities to undertake mitigation actions. The last part describes and analyses actions undertaken in rural and urban areas to show the limits of the current articulation between the central state and decentralized levels of governance regarding climate issues and to propose improvements.