Adaptive governance: a challenge to Brazilian metropolitan regions

Abstract The purpose of this article is to present a theoretical discussion about the institutional dimension of the concept of adaptive governance. We discuss examples of this institutional dimension based on an analysis of the limits to the implementation of adaptive governance in Brazilian metropolises, based on: 1) the financial resources available to the environmental management of municipalities belonging to metropolitan regions; 2) the creation of an institutional arrangement for climate governance in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro. Despite the incremental aspect, the analyzed data indicate the low fiscal relevance of the environmental issue, as well as difficulties in implementing governance arrangements that succeed in providing transversal planning capacity, mechanisms for the integrated action of different agents, and incentives to an enhanced participatory dynamics in the formulation and implementation of climate policies.