A framework for understanding the key drivers of cities' climate actions in city networks

Due to the complexity of environmental city networks, the incentives of climate actions in these networks are unclear. Despite their rise, the literature is yet to fully engage with this complexity, as siloed disciplinary focuses on specific aspects of climate actions in city networks are far behind explaining the reality of these networks. Since there is a dispersed understanding of climate actions in city networks across different fields of research, we adopt an interdisciplinary approach to identify the key drivers of climate actions in city networks. Urban studies' focus is on networking and the political economy behind it. On the other hand, sustainability transition studies has provided an in-depth understanding of the socio-cultural context, and scholars in environmental science illuminate the environmental context of cities. By synthesizing these three fields, this paper proposes a framework that ensures a comprehensive understanding of drivers of climate actions in city networks. It consists of thirteen attributes under four themes of networking context, political economy, socio-cultural context, and environmental context. The framework's utility is identifying the limitations of studies and a comprehensive comparison of cities to unpack the drivers of climate actions in city networks to encourage networking.