This research is a contribution to understanding the approach to local climate change in Costa Rica, from a positioning that gives a fundamental role to citizen participation and climate governance. The study is justified to the extent that the country defined a National Climate Change Strategy for 2020, in which the municipalities under analysis have been part of the country's first experience of working on climate change at the local level and also with a participatory approach, involving local governments and different social actors (civil society). In this context, it is of interest to examine whether there have been policies and incentive mechanisms for local governments and civil society, as well as what are the determining factors for strengthening local capacities in the issue of climate change, and, finally, if such initiatives contribute to local sustainable development. This study therefore seeks to contribute to the systematization of local development experiences, in particular those related to participatory planning and management processes, in the theme of climate change at the local level. To this end, the analysis of three case studies of municipalities in Costa Rica that have undertaken the challenge of incorporating the issue of climate change into their local agendas, with a participatory approach, integrating the socio-environmental, cultural, political and economic dimensions. The research and analysis of the relevant dimensions in these case studies have generated a methodological model for local climate change initiatives, which integrates the technical and participatory perspective in the construction of a system of indicators to provide new knowledge to local development processes, and contribute to a framework of reference for other experiences at the national or international level.