ABSTRACT
In the United Kingdom, we have witnessed numerous efforts, at a range of governance levels, to facilitate transitions towards low carbon economies and places. For instance, the Climate Change Bill of 2008 is underpinned by a key aim of facilitating the transition to a low carbon economy. Increasingly, the claims for these transitions have been grounded in concerns for managing risk, ecological and energy security, fostering resilience and adapting to changing (global and local) environments. With more than half of the world’s population now living in urban areas, and cities accounting for 80 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions (Hodson and Marvin 2009), cities are often seen as crucial sites for responding to the dual issues of climate change and peak oil, while also becoming more sustainable in nature (Betsill and Bulkeley 2007; Moser and Dilling 2007; Giradet 2008). A number of towns and cities in the United Kingdom (and across the globe) have taken initiatives to move the agenda further, such as the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change1 and the ICLEI’s Cities for Climate for Climate Protection Campaign.2
