ABSTRACT

Climate Action Network International (CAN-I) is a transnational/global organization and network of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). It is one of the oldest, biggest, and most popular actors of the climate movement worldwide. With its continuous activities, it has been of significant weight so far. Climate Action Network was founded in 1989 and started joint activities during the second world climate conference in 1990. It has been growing steadily and consists currently of more than 700 NGOs in 95 countries. Climate Action Network is organized into regional and national “nodes” (Duwe 2001: 179). Each node is responsible for its own governance and procedures, in conducting joint policy and advocacy work within its given country or region. The regional networks include Climate Action Network Europe, United States, and South Asia among others. 1 These networks consist of member organizations, among them different national groups of 350.org, different groups of the humanitarian organization CARE, environmental NGOs such as Friends of the Earth and the World Wildlife Fund as well as other groups engaged in issues of urban sustainability, environmental justice, and other issues. According to Duwe (2001: 179), the network nodes differ from each other insofar as CNE and US-Climate Action Network run steady offices with full-time staff in Brussels and Washington respectively. The capacity of US-Climate Action Network and CNE puts the main part of the international coordination into their hands in addition to facilitating the members of their regions. In contrast, most of the other coordinators are members of regional NGOs and have to fulfill their Climate Action Network job alongside their usual obligations with the consequence of less time for networking activities (Duwe 2001: 179).