In general, governance is described as the set of decisions, actors, processes, institutional structures and mechanisms, incorporating the division of authority and underlying norms involved in determining a course of action (Adger et al. in Adapting to climate change: Thresholds, values, governance. Cambridge University Press, 2010; Pelling in Adaptation to climate change: From resilience to transformation. Routledge, 2011). This concept can be applied to climate change governance. An important finding from this definition is that governance is not related to public-sector actors alone but encompasses all relevant actors in decision-making. These actors maintain some arrangements, often in association with each other, for new initiatives and creating partnerships (Forino et al. in Int J Disaster Risk Sci 6:372–384, 2015). Governance often conveys a ‘Janus face’ (Swyngedouw in Urban Stud 42:1991–2006, 2005) that moves away from an ideal decision-making process; from collective goals and benefits towards the legitimisation of privileged actors with different goals and priorities (Forino et al. in Int J Disaster Risk Sci 6:372–384, 2015).