Motivating carbon reduction in the UK: the role of local government as an agent of social change

Promoting sustainability and pro-environmental behaviour through local government programmes: examples from London, UK

“…Officers also spoke of the difficulties of engaging particular sectors of the community, notably working professionals, who are busy and or apathetic towards the topic (Local Authorities C and D). This corresponded with similar observations from a number of other recent studies (Fudge and Peters 2009;Peters et al 2012).…”

“…Engaging citizens on climate change and sustainability issues is also often thwarted with challenges and there are a number of well-documented barriers to engagement. Many local authorities find it difficult to engage with residents and encourage attitude and behavioural change because of citizen apathy towards the subject, and they can also find it hard to penetrate certain target sectors of society as a result of residents' modern hectic lifestyles (Fudge and Peters 2009;Peters et al 2012). Other residents are difficult to engage because they lack trust in the local authority or confidence in their policies, and this acts as a barrier to the forging of meaningful relationships with residents and community groups and effective sustainability programmes (Fudge and Peters 2009;Peters et al 2012Peters et al , 2013.…”

“…One officer felt that their collaborative sustainability projects were 'successful because of the officers involved and the residents trust the officers' (Local Authority D). This local authority was therefore successful in breaking down the commonly observed barrier of a lack of trust and managed to effectively develop meaningful relationships with citizens and community groups (Fudge and Peters 2009;Peters et al 2012Peters et al , 2013.…”

A Community Energy Transition Model for Urban Areas: The Energy Self-Reliant Village Program in Seoul, South Korea

“…The role of local government in promoting community engagement in energy transition has been emphasized and recognized by the central government in the UK [49,50]. Unlike in the UK, Denmark, and Germany [19,51], the role of local governments is very limited in South Korea.…”

Conflicted or constructive? Exploring community responses to new energy developments in Canada

“…We have identified three key sub-areas of further research that will support low-carbon energy proponents in working alongside communities in the development of decarbonising projects in Canada: (1) the role of local and regional governments in facilitating the development of low-carbon projects (UK-based work already exists; see for example [93]) and spurring innovation; (2) the opportunities for local ownership or benefit-sharing models at the local level in the Canadian context; (3) the effects of innovative governance models (such as R-SEA) that seek to reconcile the urgent need for new energy infrastructure with the slower timescales necessary to engage communities and understand ecological processes.…”