This study investigates the spread of innovative behavioral (green nudging) policies within city-level Climate Action Plans (CAPs) across the European Union, focusing on how these innovations diffuse and the factors influencing their adoption. Using textual analysis with a dataset consisting of CAPs from 40 cities across Europe, we categorized various green nudging innovations and then tracked their origins and uptake. Then, we employed fsQCA (Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis) to identify the key factors driving diffusion. The findings reveal that while certain innovations, particularly in the building and transportation sectors, have achieved widespread adoption, other initiatives like community co-creation and urban parks have seen lower diffusion. Local terrestrial factors, especially sectoral carbon emissions, are significant drivers, with cities facing higher emissions more likely to adopt these policies. Interestingly, local emissions levels and strong climate leadership emerge as more critical determinants than economic status or climate similarities. The study identifies two primary diffusion pathways—Cultural Leadership for Emission Reduction and Local Adaptive Synergy—demonstrating the diverse strategies cities employ based on their unique contexts. This research highlights the importance of expanding green nudging measures in CAPs beyond technological and infrastructure domains to promote low-carbon behaviors comprehensively.

中文翻译：

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欧洲城市气候行动计划中行为政策传播的（非）陆地和（非）本地途径：背景、文化和领导力框架


本研究调查了整个欧盟城市级气候行动计划 （CAP） 中创新行为（绿色推动）政策的传播情况，重点关注这些创新如何传播以及影响其采用的因素。使用由来自欧洲 40 个城市的 CAP 组成的数据集进行文本分析，我们对各种绿色推动创新进行了分类，然后跟踪了它们的来源和采用情况。然后，我们采用 fsQCA （模糊集定性比较分析） 来确定驱动扩散的关键因素。研究结果表明，虽然某些创新，特别是在建筑和交通领域，已经得到广泛采用，但社区共创和城市公园等其他举措的传播程度较低。当地的陆地因素，尤其是行业的碳排放，是重要的驱动因素，面临更高排放的城市更有可能采用这些政策。有趣的是，与经济状况或气候相似性相比，当地的排放水平和强大的气候领导力成为更关键的决定因素。该研究确定了两个主要的传播途径——减排的文化领导力和地方适应性协同作用——展示了城市根据其独特环境采用的不同策略。本研究强调了将 CAP 的绿色推动措施扩展到技术和基础设施领域之外以全面促进低碳行为的重要性。