Local Climate Action and Policy Implementation in Egypt and Somalia: A Multilevel Governance Perspective
Abstract
As climate change intensifies, local governments have become increasingly important in translating national climate commitments into context-specific action, particularly in regions affected by institutional fragility and climate vulnerability. This study aims to examine how local climate initiatives contribute to climate policy implementation and multilevel governance integration in Egypt and Somalia. The two countries provide contrasting governance contexts: Egypt represents a centralized, state-led model with emerging local engagement, whereas Somalia reflects a fragmented, hybrid governance setting in which community-based and externally supported initiatives often compensate for weak formal state capacity. Methodologically, the study adopts a comparative qualitative case study design and applies thematic content analysis to policy documents, development reports, project-based materials, and academic literature. The findings show that local actors in both countries contribute primarily to implementation, adaptation, service delivery, community mobilization, and resilience-building rather than to direct national policy formulation. In Egypt, local climate action is generally shaped by national strategies, administrative hierarchy, and centrally guided implementation. In Somalia, local initiatives are more adaptive and community-driven but remain constrained by insecurity, donor dependency, weak coordination, and limited institutional continuity. The study concludes that local climate action becomes more effective and policy-relevant when supported by clear mandates, technical capacity, climate finance, coordination mechanisms, monitoring systems, and feedback channels. The implications suggest that strengthening multilevel climate governance in Africa requires bridging the gap between national frameworks and local realities by empowering local actors, improving institutional coordination, and transforming local implementation experience into policy learning.
- Compares local climate governance in centralized Egypt and fragile Somalia.
- Shows local actors support implementation, adaptation, and resilience.
- Finds centralization limits local autonomy in Egypt’s climate action.
- Finds Somalia’s local initiatives are adaptive but donor-dependent.
- Calls for finance, capacity, coordination, monitoring, and policy feedback.
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https://doi.org/10.36923/ijsser.v8i2.366
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