Barriers to climate change policy responses for urban areas: a study of Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, Ghana

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ScienceDirect Barriers to climate change policy responses for urban areas: a study of Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, Ghana Afua Adu-Boateng Climate change has emerged as an urgent issue around which both ideas of development and practice are crystallising both in the North and South. However, in this discourse the concern with climate change seems not to dwell much on seeking a better understanding of the barriers to climate change policy responses in different contexts. This paper explores the extent to which climate change ideas are received and converted into policy and programmes by local governments, with reference to Tamale Metropolitan Assembly in Ghana. This study highlights that limited perception of development co-benefits, and the tensions in negotiating national directives and local priorities constrain policy responses to climate change. Address 104 Earl Street, Bilston. WV14 8JT, United Kingdom Corresponding author: Adu-Boateng, Afua ([email protected], [email protected])

Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 2015, 13:49–57 This review comes from a themed issue on Sustainability challenges Edited by David Simon and Hayley Leck For a complete overview see the Issue and the Editorial Received 25 July 2014; Accepted 03 February 2015 Available online 19th February 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2015.02.001

promising responses to climate change [9]. This paper presents an opportunity to revisit these assertions in the context of climate change policies, with particular reference to Tamale metropolis in Ghana. The extent to which national programmes and policy ideas, aimed at integrating climate change in local development plans, are received and responded to at the sub-national government level is not well known. This paper investigates the extent to which climate change policy initiatives are reflected in metropolitan development plans in Ghana and proposes an explanatory framework for this manifestation. It reviews literature to synthesise various theoretical perspectives on the responses to climate change policies. The conceptual framework hypothesises that weak external pressure, absent normative mechanisms, limited perceptions of development and political co-benefits, and inadequate engagement in city–city networks shape limited policy responses to climate change. Drawing on semi-structured interviews and a review of policy documents, the policy responses by Tamale Metropolitan Assembly are presented followed by discussions on how the conceptual framework relates to the empirical evidence. This paper presents a part of a comparative study carried out in three Ghanaian metropolitan areas namely, Accra, Kumasi and Tamale [10].

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Conceptual framework for climate change policy responses

Introduction: the context and research questions Climate change has emerged as an urgent issue around which both ideas of development and practice are crystallising both in the global North and South. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [1, Article 3: Principle 4] calls for climate change measures to be integrated into national development programmes. The role of sub-national governments is crucial for the integration of climate change policy ideas in development planning [2–5]. Despite this recognition, the national and urban sub-national contexts of most sub-Saharan African countries present a dim image. Several authors have noted variations in, and a marginalisation of, the urban context in the contents of national climate change policy on one hand, and limited initiatives by the majority of urban governments [6,7,8]. However some African cities have made www.sciencedirect.com

Various scholars [6,11–13] have attempted to explain the rationale for responses by state and urban governments to the novel ideas on planning for a changing climate. The Global Report on Human Settlement [14] similarly emphasises that local contextual factors such as governance capacity challenges, namely institutional, technical and economic and political, are crucial in shaping urban policy responses. However, taking this standpoint tends to ignore the macro-level exogenous processes such as the contribution of the international political context, considering that climate change policies originated as an international issue [15]. In addition, the influence of multi-level governance structures [16], international actors, and national agencies [17,18] should not be overlooked when investigating climate change responses in urban areas. Consequently drawing on various disciplines, an integrated conceptual framework is advocated, which considers that local, national and international factors have the possibility of shaping urban governments’ policy responses to climate change. External pressure, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 2015, 13:49–57

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co-benefits, normative imitation and peer pressure to emulate are presented next as possible factors shaping the adoption of a novel policy. External pressure: central government development directives

External pressure from international organisations has been identified as playing a contributory role in influencing the adoption of new policies [19]. This takes various forms, subtle or overt; from direct conditionalities attached to lending facilities, to manipulating economic costs, monopolisation of expertise and information and even through treaties on weaker states [20]. Weyland [19] argues that in an era of globalisation, external factors, specifically pressure from international organisations, contribute significantly to inducing countries to adopt new policies. Climate change appears to be a major current concern for development lending agencies [21–23]. International financial institutes, such as the World Bank, have to a large extent been influential in financing national governments’ initiatives for urban development projects in developing countries [24,25]. Yet top down financing of climate change by international agencies and national governments have been predominantly ineffective [8]. Studies on the external pressure to adopt a new policy have focused on the macro-scale, investigating nation states and international financial institutions. The subordinate position of local governments in the hierarchy of government structures in most countries, despite decentralisation efforts, is a possible factor influencing the response to national development guidelines and funding directives on climate change. Metropolitan governments have varying degrees of autonomy and may resist, concede to these directives, or take their own initiatives outside national frameworks, as in some South African cities such as Cape Town and Durban [16,26,27]. This implies that the extent to which national climate change agendas are adopted would be determined by the degree to which the guidelines from national government are enforceable and the level of metropolitan government’s autonomy. Co-benefits of climate change policy ideas

Rationalists argue that individuals and organisations adopt purely rational and calculative decision making processes based on expected benefits [28]. However the tendency towards impulsive, temporally myopic decision making as well as the systematic inconsistencies in behaviour poses theoretical challenges for rational choice [29]. There is a wide ‘deviation of actual behaviour from the normative model’ which rational utilitarian theory fails to address [30]. As Smith and May [31] note, there are a range of political variables limiting the extent of choice available as well as the power of vested interests. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 2015, 13:49–57

The economic benefits of adopting a climate change policy (as well as the economic costs of not responding) have been extensively dealt with in the influential report on the economics of climate change [32]. There are both direct and collateral benefits (co-benefits) of adapting and mitigating to climate change, also referred to as multiple benefits and synergies [33,34]. Cape Town [35:6] municipality identifies the co-benefits of climate change policies as improved service delivery, financial stability in the city operations and improved air quality. Mokwena [36:16] also noted that adopting climate change policies by the City of Cape Town is beneficial for addressing domestic concerns of energy security and protecting biodiversity for tourism. For the Lagos State Government [37], adopting a climate change strategy is a means for protecting populations living in informal settlements and affluent settlements, such as Lekki, Ikoyi and Victoria Island. It appears that, for local governments, the potential of climate change policies to address other development needs is crucial for their adoption. Though the development co-benefits may be obvious, political and electoral incentives also exist. The likelihood of adopting a new policy is also closely related to the political consequences and search for electoral rewards, as well as to its timing in the electoral cycle. Gilardi et al. [38] stress that in decision making, policy makers are interested in the political consequences of adopting a policy, particularly whether there are electoral rewards, sanctions or a back-lash ascribed to the new policy. The interest in the political consequences becomes more pronounced given the limited nature of the electoral cycle and policy makers’ tendency to seek re-election after a term in office [39]. This presents a ‘political’ dimension and imposes an often short time frame for political decision making about the co-benefits of adopting a policy and would be explored in the context of Ghana. The potential co-benefits of climate change policies would determine the extent to which it is granted attention in metropolitan development plans. Quest for legitimacy through adoption

The preceding section highlighted the perceived cobenefits of policy ideas as a possible determinant for policy adoption. Though a probable determinant, it assumed that decision making is usually a rational, calculated process; which is not always the case when normative factors are considered [30]. When a new policy attains normative status, governments are induced to adopt it in the quest for legitimacy and so as not to appear ‘deviant’ [40]. Norms are defined as ‘informal rules that groups adopt to regulate and regularise group member behaviour’ [41:47]. Sikkink et al. [42:8] explain normative status, from a human rights perspective: ‘these prescribe rules for appropriate behaviour and help define identities’. So, an idea attains normative status when it is considered generally appropriate behaviour and assists www.sciencedirect.com

Adoption and diffusion of climate change policies Adu-Boateng 51

in defining ones identity within a social group. This tends to be more pronounced when the innovation has been made into a symbol of modernity or a normatively appropriate model for a social group [19]. Arguably, addressing climate change has attained sufficient international normative power [43]. City governments in sub-Saharan Africa may not participate directly in international climate change negotiations, and consequently may not subscribe to climate change as an international norm. This implies that if climate change policies are not perceived by metropolitan governments as a symbol of modernity and appropriate behaviour in a group they are likely to be granted limited policy attention.

Policy makers do not only look to emulate from countries or cities close to their geographical boundaries or regional networks but also from those in international city–city networks. Transnational Municipal Networks (TMN) such as the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), C40, United Councils and Local Governments (UCLG) have been perceived as primarily networks mechanisms for promoting action on issues, such as environmental sustainability, for which these networks were formed [47]. When applied to the context of Ghana, metropolitan governments are likely to adopt climate change policies when neighbouring cities have done so and they engage in city networks for learning about integrating climate change policies.

‘Peer pressure’: emulation and competition

Rogers [44] asserts that for some innovations, particularly, preventative ones, the trial of the new idea by a ‘peer’ can act as a substitute for their own trial session of the innovation. Notably, geographical proximity appears to count in influencing a policy maker to emulate and adopt a new program or policy. Meseguer and Gilardi [45] suggest that policy makers in Latin America emulated the Chilean pension privatization scheme due to geographical proximity as well as its relevance to them. However the spread of hospital financing reforms in OECD countries highlights that policies in countries outside the region can be emulated [38]. Despite the fact that Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg are within geographical proximity, there exists no structured platform for sharing information or exchanging good practice on climate change, though informal forms of exchanging information on climate change policies exist [46].

Research methodology In this study all four concepts of external pressure, cobenefits, quest for legitimacy and ‘peer’ pressure are utilised as sensitizing tools [48,49] to identify which of these provides an explanation for metropolitan governments adopting climate change policies in Ghana. It also draws attention to the fact that the response to novel policies are shaped by material and ideational variables. Table 1 provides a detailed framework of the concepts investigated and the indicators. Firstly, the existence and enforceability of national development directives and financial incentives were used as indicators to determine the extent of ‘external pressure’ on metropolitan governments to adopt climate change policies. Secondly, metropolitan government planning officials’ perception of climate change policies attaining a normative status was an indicator in exploring the concept of norm imitation. The third

Table 1 Framework for investigation Research question

Indicators

Means of verification National Development Planning Commission Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning Ministry of Local government and Rural development - Metropolitan Assembly officials

- Interviews - Review of policy/ strategy documents

- Metropolitan Assembly officials - Climate Change Focal Point - Metropolitan Assembly officers - City-Networks - Sister City relationships - ECOWAS

- Interviews - Review of literature and policy documents

External pressure

To what extent is there external pressure to adopt climate change in urban development plans

Regulations and incentives for adopting climate change adaptation in development - Direct climate change adaptation policy lending for urban areas

Normative imitation

To what extent has climate change urban adaptation attained social value

Co-benefits of climate change policies

Are there perceived co-benefits of adopting climate change policies?

Perception of climate change as a norm among local government policy makers Environmental/ Developmental/Political/ electoral co-benefits

Peer pressure: emulation and competition

To what extent does the metropolitan government engage in political socialisation within Ghana and with other cities?

Membership and participation in city-city networks

Tools

- Interviews

- Interviews - Review of policy documents

Source: Author’s research.

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Table 2 Case study selection criteria Metropolitan assembly

Pop. size (percentage urban)

Accra b Kumasi Sekondi-Takoradi Tamale Cape Coast Tema

1,848,614 2,035,064 559,548 419,110 169,894 392,044

Agro-ecological zones a Rain forest

(100) (100) (96.1) (65.1) (76.7) (97.4)

Guinea Savannah

Coastal Savannah U

U U U U U

Source: Derived with data from the Ghana Statistical Services Population and Housing Census, 2010. a

The agro-ecological zones in Ghana: Sudan Savannah Zone, Guinea Savannah Zone, Transition Zone, Semi-deciduous Forest zone, Rain Forest Zone and the Coastal Savannah Zone. It is important to state that Accra Metropolitan Assembly is a part of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, which consists of other districts.

b

indicator is the perception and evidence of environmental, economic and political co-benefits of climate change adaptation and mitigation policies. The final indicator explores participation in city–city, regional and international networks, whether climate change policies are worth emulating and its adoption provides cities with a comparative advantage. Drawing on a policy analysis perspective, the case study approach is adopted for this research due to its potential to ‘unfold the pathology of a situation from the assembly and study of a suitable number of cases’ [50:267]. There are 216 government administrative centres, consisting of 6 Metropolitan areas, 49 Municipal authorities and 161 District assemblies. Ghana has 6 urban centres classified as metropolitan areas; four coastal towns1 and two inland cities2 (Table 2). Considering that coastal cities have received substantial research attention while minimal policy attention is given to less prime urban areas which are located inland [51,52], this paper focuses on inland metropolitan areas in Ghana, particularly Tamale. Investigating Tamale metropolitan government’s response to climate change presents an opportunity to study smaller urban areas which, compared to mega-cities are granted limited attention in studies on cities and climate change [53]. The findings from semi-structured interviews supplemented by an in-depth review of relevant document are presented in the subsequent sections.

Climate change in Ghana’s national development policy framework The Ghana Shared Growth Development Agenda (GSGDA) (2010–2013) is the national development policy

framework for preparing medium term district/municipal and metropolitan development plans. The GSGDA policy framework highlights seven (7) thematic areas,3 two core thematic areas of the GSGDA are crucial for the purposes of this research on climate change development planning in urban areas. Firstly, the directive to address natural disaster risk and vulnerability as well as climate variability and change is a sub-theme of the thematic area ‘accelerated agricultural modernisation and sustainable natural resource management’ [54:49–51]. Secondly ‘settlement disaster prevention’ is a sub-theme of the thematic area ‘Infrastructure and human settlements’ [54:69,70]. Local governments were expected to present strategies for addressing climate change in their development plans for 2010–2013. In line with the decentralisation process and the Local Government Act 462, the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC)4 and Regional Coordinating Planning Unit (RCPU) are to facilitate the preparation of metropolitan medium term development plan. The facilitating role involves providing relevant information and resources for preparing the metropolitan development plan, monitor the preparation of the plan as well as coordinating its harmonisation with the national policies, GSGDA [57:5]. It appears that the role of Regional Coordinating Councils and RCPUs are administrative and the actual process of formulating the development plan rests with metropolitan assemblies. Yet the process of development planning requires that regional and local planning units collaborate to ensure the plans are consistent with national priorities. Metropolitan/Municipal/District Assemblies (MMDAs) are designated as planning authorities under the Local Government Act 1993 article 12(1). This grants the authority to prepare local development plans which then

1

Coastal metropolitan areas: Accra, Sekondi-Takoradi, Cape Coast and Tema. 2 Inland metropolitan areas: Kumasi and Tamale. 3 Thematic areas were established through consultation with a cross sectoral planning group (CSPG) consisting of development partners, civil society groups, selected research institutions and government ministries. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 2015, 13:49–57

4 The Regional Coordinating Council is a regional body established by constitution of the Republic of Ghana [55]. Regional Planning Coordinating Units in the various regions are to coordinate, monitor and evaluate planning activities and by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies Act 480 [56].

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Adoption and diffusion of climate change policies Adu-Boateng 53

culminate into a regional plan and finally national plan. The extent to which national policy on climate change, in the GSGDA, were responded to by Tamale metropolitan governments in the medium term development plan will be addressed in the subsequent sections. Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA)

This section presents the extent to which the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly has responded to NDPC directives to include climate change policy initiatives in the medium term development plans for 2010–2013. It also explores the contextual drivers and constraints. Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA) is classified as a metropolitan area under the Local Government Act 462 and located in the Northern region of Ghana. Tamale is considered one of the fastest growing urban areas in Africa, population grew by 48.8% and in the period between 1984 and 2000 and an average intercensal growth rate of 3.5% [58]. Tamale is the only urban settlement classified as metropolitan5 in the northern part of the country. This places TaMA as an urban growth pole in the northern regions. However that does not rule out relatively smaller urban and rural areas as less significant particularly in view of the growth that is taking place in smaller towns across Africa. Therefore when disasters occur they are likely to have regional as well as national negative economic impacts. Tamale is located within the Guinea savannah eco-climate zone. Mean annual daily temperatures in the Guinea savannah eco-climatic zone have increased from 27.3 8C in 1961 to 27.8 8C in 2000 and projected to increase in Tamale from 28.1 8C in 1990 to 29 8c by 2020.6 Daily solar radiation is expected to increase from 19.24 MJ/m2 on average between 1961 and 1990 to 19.96 MJ/m2 in 2020.7 By contrast rainfall patterns are expected to decrease from an average annual rainfall of 1100.2 mm in the 1961–1990 time periods and 1082.8 mm in 2010 to 1074.8 mm by 2020.8 Moreover, Tamale is located within an ecological zone with a low water table. In addition to the high temperatures, diminishing rainfall patterns have had an impact on the water supply and health of Tamale. The low water table has contributed to the poor drainage system in Tamale with consequent inconsistencies in water supply from Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL). This situation is expected to be exacerbated by increased temperatures and evapotranspiration. How prepared is TaMA?

area, namely education, infrastructural development, and waste and sanitation, as well as the location of buildings along water ways.9 Additional areas of concern include health, low revenue mobilisation and local economic development. The TaMA medium term development plan (2010–2013) states that the overall goal is aimed at ‘wealth creation, empowerment of the marginalised, promoting gender equity and strengthening the sub-metro structures’ [58:94]. The next section explores the planning and budgeting provisions in the medium term development plan to determine the extent to which climate change is reflected in the TaMA development plans. Planning and budgeting for climate change in medium term plans

The TaMA composite budget for 2012 fiscal year stated that the following activities would be carried out to reduce vulnerability to climate variability: sensitization of communities, identifying lands and plant seedlings, monitor the tree planting and training the district capacity building team on climate change and the environment. One focus area of the TaMA composite budget for 2012 fiscal year is to ‘promote resilient urban infrastructure development maintenance and provision of basic services [59:39]. Ghs.10 51,000 (0.41% of the total budget) was allocated in 2012 for promoting resilient urban infrastructure development. The same amount was expected to be allocated in 2013 fiscal year, increasing further to Ghs 51,600 in 2014 and 2015 fiscal years respectively. The funding for urban resilience planning is expected from internally generated funds (IGF) of the metropolis and Government of Ghana allocations through the District Assembly Common Funds (DACF). TaMA’s planned expenditure indicated that 1.47% of the budgetary funding was allocated for disaster prevention in the TaMA composite budget for 2012 fiscal year. The top three sectors to which funds were allocated are works (45.57%), waste management (23.38%) and administration (19.43%). Waste management and reducing pollution, education and capacity building for good governance take precedence, particularly when these development areas have readily available funding streams through DACF11 and donor supported District Development Funds (DDF). The DACF, which is a major source of revenue for TaMA, has specific purpose areas for funding allocation which does not include an allocation for climate disaster risk reduction.12 Finance for mainstreaming climate con9

Interviews with metropolitan planning officials established three areas of development concerns for the metropolitan 5 In the hierarchy of settlements in Ghana cities are classified as metropolitan when the population exceeds 250,000. 6 EPA, 2001: 59, Table 3.4. 7 EPA, 2001: 59, Table 3.7. 8 EPA, 2001: 60, Table 3.9.

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Key informant interview 22, 23rd August, 2011. Ghana currency: cedis — approximately Ghs 5.00 = £1.00. DACF — District assembly common fund was established under District Assembly Common Fund Act 455, 1993 and is a development facility to assist districts to implement development programmes. In 2007 the fund increased from 5% to 7.5% of all national tax revenue. This is then shared among district assemblies based on a criteria established by the DACF team and approved by parliament. 12 Key informant interview 22, 23rd August 2011. 10 11

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cerns in development is not reflected in the TaMA 2012 fiscal budget and has been attributed to the reliance on DACF from national government which does not have climate change funding as a focus area. Limited internally generated funds (IGF) and prioritisation of development needs imply that future climate concerns compete with immediate local development concerns, immediate needs which could be addressed in the short term within the political time frame tend to be granted priority. A key informant agrees with the assertion about limited funds and suggests another perspective: ‘We are looking into a big pot which is almost empty, if nothing comes out of it we wait. There is no entrepreneurial spirit within the assembly looking out for other sources of funds’.13 Moreover to the local politician, ‘the concept is unattractive because it is not a subject which attracts electoral votes and therefore not of interest to the local politician’.14 The development plan and budgetary allocation streams show that marginal aspects of climate change adaptation are included. The mitigation component in reducing greenhouse gas emissions is not specified and no funding is allocated. In addition to marginalised urban context in national climate change policies, the case of TaMA demonstrates that climate change concerns are to a large extent missing from urban development plans. The marginalised climate change component in TaMA development plan is also reflected in the governance structure of the metropolis. Coupled with inadequate funds for climate resilient development planning, TaMA’s institutional set up is yet to establish a management structure for formulation and implementation of climate change initiatives. The marginal attention to climate change concerns in TaMA’s development plans is consistent with Satterthwaite et al.’s [6] assertion that climate change has received limited consideration by urban governments in developing countries. Climate change has been widely described as a global environmental and development challenge. However to the metropolitan government, these projects are primarily linked to solving local development problems of deforestation and water supply. This illustrates the climate change — development trade-off, but which has been challenged in some literature that demonstrates how this can be overcome [60]. However the perception still persists in this context and the rationale will be presented in the section titled ‘Negotiating the tensions between national guidelines and local priorities’.

Barriers to climate change policy responses The previous section emphasised that climate change has received only marginal attention in TaMA development plans. It is essential to explore beyond this manifestation and examine the underlying factors which shaped these 13 14

Key informant interview 21, 22nd August 2011. Key informant interview 24, 24th August 2011.

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responses. The subsequent discussion draws on the concepts of external pressure, co-benefits of climate change policies, quest for legitimacy and peer pressure to explain the responses by TaMA. Negotiating the tensions between national guidelines and local priorities

The drive towards integrating climate change mitigation and adaptation policies in development plans in Ghana was not autonomously initiated by the metropolitan assembly. Institutional conflicts also manifest within metropolitan administrative system; between departments under different ministerial mandates confirming functional scale challenges [34]. As evidenced in TaMA’s empirical data, national priorities and local development demands may be in conflict and create tensions. Though this perception may exist, measures need to be taken to ensure that there is a deeper understanding of the climate change — development nexus not as antagonistic but complementing the development of urban areas [60,61]. Overcoming the perceived conflicts between meeting immediate development needs and planning with the changing climate in mind would require extensive and sustained communication on the relevance of such practices for development. These tensions are mediated by the local government, which considers that both dimensions have incentives. Embracing the local priorities and national development framework guidelines would therefore be a favourable response to this tension. Consequently the tension between local and global/national contexts and policy demands has contributed to a manifestation of limited attention by local governments to climate change development planning. Different tensions exist as a result of the complex nature of the arena for decision making which is characterised by different actors and interests at multiple scales of governance. Mediating these tensions therefore prevents drastic strategies to reduce greenhouse gases and increase resilience to the adverse climatic conditions and impacts. Hence the current response by TaMA, though perceived as limited, appears to constitute a manifestation of these existing conflicts and mediating efforts by local government. Despite these multiple pressures, a multi-level governance approach, which advocates interplay of different levels of governance and government, has the potential for the effective governance of climate change by urban governments [16]. The missing link between political salience and development co-benefits of climate change policies

This study has also demonstrated that the policy intent to adopt measures for addressing climate change is not entirely driven by the concern for impacts of adverse climatic conditions on urban development. The ability of a policy innovation to resolve multiple development problems could be crucial in motivating policy makers www.sciencedirect.com

Adoption and diffusion of climate change policies Adu-Boateng 55

to include climate change on the policy agenda. As standalone projects, ‘climate change’ initiatives have limited value until they are linked to existing concerns for the local context. Therefore climate change initiatives are tied to already existing concerns the metropolitan assembly needs to address. For instance, TaMA mentioned that tree planting would form a crucial part of its programmes to deal with the effect of climate variability. However, on a wider scale, ‘tree planting’ is addressing more than contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but also has the prospects of reducing desertification creeping towards the city. Unfortunately the development cobenefits of climate change for Tamale metropolis have not been extensively researched. Climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives have been highlighted as beneficial for the general development of urban areas in Ghana [62]. ‘Climate change mitigation’ as an issue appears not to attract electoral votes. On the other hand measures to resolve the impacts of drought conditions in the Tamale metropolis are key themes of public interest, which tend to gain the attention of political leaders. TaMA climate change adaptation initiatives have political salience: drought and excessive heat. There remains a gap in the understanding, and research, of synergies between climate change adaptation and mitigation in the context of Tamale. This case also shows that actors’ interests in development planning have the potential to shape the extent to which synergy between climate change adaptation and mitigation would be enhanced or constrained. The case of TaMA also points to this delink between political/electoral and development co-benefits, limiting the extent to which climate change initiatives are mainstreamed in development plan (2010– 2013). This demonstrates that literature highlighting development co-benefits for adopting climate change policies in cities need to consider the political salience of such policies. Climate change policies: not yet a symbol of modernity

TaMA has demonstrated minimal internalisation of climate change policy into all metropolitan activities. Response to climate change in development plans points to the fact that the concept is yet to emerge as a norm; it is business as usual in metropolitan development planning. Interviews with metropolitan officials point towards the fact that climate change policies as a development paradigm has not achieved adequate salience at the metropolitan level to affect the image of the assembly. Compared to a number of state declarations implying that addressing climate change would enhance Ghana’s image as a pacesetter on achieving development goals [63,64], the same perceptions was not identified at the metropolitan government level. This raises questions about norms consolidated in a different arena and expected to be internalised by non-participant cities in the process. www.sciencedirect.com

Absent peer pressure to adopt climate change policies

TaMA has engaged in sister–city partnerships and the focus of these networks has been towards fostering economic, social and cultural exchanges. Though climaterelated concerns are appreciated they are yet to form the basis of political interactions with other African cities. Climate change local government networks have been regarded as one of the key channels through which local governments have adopted climate change policy initiatives. TaMA have currently not engaged in sister city partnerships with other ICLEI-Africa member cities and therefore there is no pressure from peer cities to emulate them. When there are absent or restricted ties to these organisations two factors manifest: there is limited communication and access to network-based knowledge on climate initiatives, and secondly there is no compulsion to conform. This could be a possible explanation why climate change received limited consideration in the TaMA development plan. In conclusion, the marginal responses have been shaped mainly not only as a result of the weak external pressure, but the interaction of different external pressures metropolitan governments have to address or cope with. Secondly the development co-benefits to Tamale metropolis have been under-explored and hardly linked to the political salience of climate change policies.

Conclusion mediating national-local priorities, tensions and limited perception of co-benefits The paper has investigated the extent to which climate change was reflected in Tamale Metropolitan Assembly’s development plans and the factors shaping the policy responses. In order to pursue this, the literature review distilled a set of concepts namely external pressure [65], quest for legitimacy [66], expected utility of the policy [39,67] and political socialisation [19,38]. These concepts were utilised to interrogate change policy data and information from international, national actors and metropolitan areas in Ghana. Climate change policies are yet to be established as a norm in management of the Tamale metropolis. Despite national development guidelines and thematic areas on climate change to sub-national governments, the unperceived political and development co-benefits have a significant impact on the extent to which development plans would reflect a climate change component. Therefore national guidelines and directives are insufficient tools to ensure climate change concerns are reflected in urban development plans. This study has demonstrated that tensions in mediating local development priorities and national directives, and inadequate perception of the various benefits, constrained stronger policy response towards climate change development planning for urban areas in Ghana. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 2015, 13:49–57

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Acknowledgements This paper forms part of the special issue on Bearing the Brunt of Environmental Change: Understanding adaptation and transformation challenges in urban Africa edited by David Simon and Hayley Leck, which arises from the Urban Studies Seminar of the same name held at Royal Holloway, University of London, in April 2013.

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