Engaging With Multi-Level Climate Governance: A Place-Based Exploration of Public Perceptions of a Local Climate Change Strategy

Abstract

The achievement of the UK government's national climate targets is dependent on sub-national activity. The distribution of responsibility across governance actors at multiple scales has resulted in the development of different climate change strategies. Increasingly, these strategies draw upon a place-based approach, as this supports the development of strategies that better capture local contexts. Yet, when developing place-based strategies, there is the need for early, meaningful and ongoing engagement with a diverse and extensive range of publics to fully capture local contexts. Drawing upon insights obtained through workshops conducted with local publics in Cambridge, UK, this paper unpacks tensions between publics and governance actors in relation to Cambridge City Council's 2021–2026 Climate Change Strategy. Utilising a relational place-based framing, the paper discusses: (1) the misalignment between the strategy and the priorities of publics; (2) the perceived disjuncture in how the strategy is being implemented; and (3) approaches for addressing the tensions identified. The paper closes with empirically informed recommendations for developing local climate strategies, which are of relevance for any context whereby (local) strategies are being developed and implemented.