Accelerating climate action in unfavourable local contexts: the role of policy entrepreneurship

Gaffney, Alfie (2025) Accelerating climate action in unfavourable local contexts: the role of policy entrepreneurship. npj Climate Action. pp. 1-10. ISSN 2731-9814

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Abstract

Local authorities are increasingly expected to lead on net-zero delivery, irrespective of their capacity to do so. Existing literature has favoured descriptive accounts of local authorities governing large, well-resourced cities over analysis of those operating in more unfavourable contexts. Consequently, the extent to which most local authorities can act, let alone lead, on climate change, and how policy entrepreneurs can exert agency in such settings, remains understudied. This paper addresses these gaps, examining how Blackpool Council, UK – a least-likely crucial case of climate action in unfavourable contexts – produced a relatively high-quality climate action plan. Analysis of policy documents and elite/expert interviews reveals the crucial role of collective local policy entrepreneurship. The motives and strategies pursued by a group of policy actors significantly accelerated climate action in an innovative, timely, and effective way. Finally, the paper calls for more research into similarly ambitious policy entrepreneurship within other puzzlingly (un)favourable contexts.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	climate action,policy entrepreneurship,local authority,blackpool,climate pioneers
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	University of East Anglia Schools > Faculty of Science > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Environmental Social Sciences Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Science, Society and Sustainability
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	26 Feb 2026 10:30
Last Modified:	26 Feb 2026 10:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/102073
DOI:	10.1038/s44168-025-00266-x

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