In 2007 Costa Rica was the first country committing to become carbon neutral. Two years later it developed its National Strategy for Climate Change and has since generated significant efforts aimed to governmental institutions and the private sector; however, advancements at the local level remain scarce, fragmented and poorly supported, particularly limited by the technical and organizational capacity that local governments have in leading mitigation and adaptation strategies within their territories. Since climate change is a multi-level, multi-sector and multi-term challenge, it asks for a different public governance style, with a higher commitment with civil society and the private sector, and with enhanced human capacities for the collective action. Supported by a research and extension project since 2011, several municipalities have been engaging in the development of collaborative and more inclusive climate change strategies within their territories in tune with local businesses, institutions, and civil society. The main purpose of this project is to support and document the process taken by our different case municipalities in developing and implementing their local strategies, and thus, supporting other local governments in developing their own. For this, the research team has been following a participatory action research approach with three local governments over several years, and during 2016 a structured survey was also conducted to the 81 municipalities of the country regarding the incorporation of the climate change topic into their municipal governance. General results are presented with an analysis of the perceptions from the nation-wide survey; then, with the help of the three cases studied, we explain the process taken in the adoption of such strategies and the challenges emerged. We found that in spite of the existing concern about the climate issue, appropriate mechanisms and information are lacking to enable its more efficient adoption in local governance. Therefore, we conclude that in order to adequately address the issue of climate change in an inclusive and sustainable manner, local governments are required to develop both internal and external capacities —beyond good administrative management— to allow a collaborative interaction with the actors involved, in order to generate and maintain their recognition, involvement, and commitment. Is evident that this project supports an alternative collaborative governance model, through the enhancement of individual and social local capacities leading to a more systemic commitment for collective climate action. This action requires transcending voluntary and isolated initiatives, leading the way to planned, and politically supported mitigation and adaptation strategies for inclusive development.
