Local governments play a key role in mitigating the causes of climate change and adapting to the new challenges this collective problem presents. Municipal policies benefit from their knowledge of the place, the proximity to the community and the possibility to engage local citizens. While international and national climate change policies set the general standards and strategies, it is at the local level and through local action where most real changes can be observed. And this topic has become timely since it has recently ascended positions in local agendas after emerging as one of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) set for the UN 2030 Agenda. In Spain, local governments are responsible for key tasks that play a key role in mitigating climate change causes and adapting to its challenges such as mobility, physical planning, waste management or water supply and treatment, etc

Against this background, this contribution aims at providing current empirical knowledge on how Spanish local governments face climate change by analyzing diversity and patterns of common behavior in their strategies and their causes. The study draws on own data from 22 municipalities in the metropolitan area of Madrid, where the authors have gathered information applying questionnaires and conducting semi-structured interviews. It firstly profiles local governmental action in terms of priorities, trends, evolution, specific actions, organization and networks and secondly it attempts at explaining variety among cases pointing to socioeconomic and political factors.