This dissertation develops theoretical and methodical foundations for urban territories’ governance under climate change based on ecological economics provisions, transformative sustainability paradigm and internationally recognised climate targets. Environmental policy regarding climate change and measures adopted at the national and international levels have been only partially effective. They have tended to focus on a narrow range of climate change causes and effects, delay action and neglect a wide range of needs, risks and opportunities at various levels. This makes a significant case for embracing a polycentric and cross-level/cross-scale perspective on climate governance, considering a the growing significance on cities in this context. The thesis provides an analysis of cities’ contribution to climate change and their vulnerabilities in this context. It identifies a range of factors that influence urban climate change mitigation and adaptation. It further outlines key paradigms shaping urban sustainability transitions under climate change: weak, strong, critical and transformative sustainability. Within those paradigms, the thesis analyses climate change interpretation by different transdisciplinary research fields and schools of thought. It argues that ecological economics and transformative sustainability paradigm are best suited to help meet internationally recognised climate targets. Based on the national environmental policy analysis regarding climate change, the thesis argues that insufficiently ambitious nationally determined contributions prevent the full realisation of urban territories’ potential for climate action. It provides critical institutional, ecological-economic and SWOT analysis of urban climate and energy action plans and reports developed for several Ukrainian cities of regional significance under the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy. Most of the developed plans grounded in theory and methods of neoclassical economics, they fail to address the uniqueness of climate challenges, the potential for a wide range of co-benefits and synergies, decision robustness and prospects of vertical and horizontal coordination. Most cities are insufficeietly ambitious in their targets and implement only a minor share of the planned activities. The thesis further outlines a framework for analysing multilevel urban climate governance. It also provides an approach for assessing the suitability of different governance frameworks and decision-support methods and tools under climate change, based on key provisions of ecological economics and sustainability science. The developed criteria are used to assess a range of relevant frameworks, methods and tools. The index of urban climate governance effectiveness is developed, which is possible to assess based on city plans, reporting and open data. The index has been assessed based on examples of three Ukrainian cities: Lviv, Odessa and Kharkiv. The thesis outlines priority areas for facilitating the transition from weak to transformative sustainability paradigm in urban climate governance within Ukrainian cities’ context, providing a list of measures across strategic, tactical and operational levels. It concludes by emphasising the importance of updating national environmental policy regarding climate change, changes in decision-making approaches and priorities, the need for institutional and social learning. Establishing state-driven support and stimuli to climate action at the local level, intergration and alignment of priorities and goals of different ministries, along with effective multilevel collaboration with support from international financial institutions and transnational networks are necessary for achieving Paris agreement goals.
