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This paper on the applicability of the network concept to global environmental governance intends to do two things. First, it discusses two different strands of network literature that so far have rarely been employed together, but would benefit from cross-fertilization. Departing from some key definitions, it points out how literature on policy and governance networks attempts to conceptualize changing state-society relations and alternative governance mechanisms, and their impact on policy-making. This type of network studies has emerged mainly in the fields of public administration, public policy and political sciences. The paper also highlights the relevance of literature that looks at the network concept as a spatial metaphor, i.e. conceptualizations in political geography and sociology of contemporary practices that extend beyond the state. In this account, various places, actors and activities on the globe are increasingly connected to each other in large networks. These divergent conceptualizations of networks will be linked to research on city networks, which is characterized by a similar co-existence of two perspectives: authors who focus on inter-city cooperation via governance networks and scholars who conceptualize city networks as emerging transnational spaces in which globalization processes materialize. Second, by bringing together insights from both strands, the paper formulates a possible framework to analyze these organizational and governance forms. This should make it possible to focus on the deeper question that drives this paper’s research: What does globalization conceptualized from a spatial metaphorical network perspective imply for the governance of global environmental problems? This question touches on several issues: it asks to what extent networked governance is different from more traditional forms of governance, which instruments it has at its disposal to tackle environmental challenges, and whether there is congruence between the metaphor of globally connected practices and global network governance mechanisms. In other words: Does networked globalization need networked governance?