Unlikely climate pioneers? Net-zero governance and innovation in ‘left behind’ places
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Research on local climate governance is dominated by the epistemologies of large cities and affluent areas, casting less urbanised, structurally disadvantaged, and peripheral localities as ‘laggards’. This mirrors economic-geography narratives that depict ‘left-behind’ areas as politically regressive and institutionally deficient. This article problematises that narrative by theorising peripheral climate leadership and demonstrating its empirical prevalence. It introduces a research strategy for systematically detecting and examining climate strategies and governance leaders in ‘left-behind’ settings. Empirically, analysis of 323 UK local authorities outside Greater London identifies 110 economically disadvantaged non-metropolitan councils, 26 of which rank in the national top decile in at least one climate-policy domain. These results suggest a more variegated geography of climate leadership, shaped by a contingent interplay of economic legacy, political agency, and governance innovation. Recognising these ‘unlikely’ climate pioneers reorients local governance scholarship and positions peripheral areas as pivotal actors in accelerating net-zero transitions. • A research agenda on climate governance in left-behind areas is proposed. • Metro-centric assumptions undervalue climate leadership in left-behind places. • Many disadvantaged local authorities emerge as national climate policy champions. • Climate strategies from left-behind areas offer greater scalability. • Recognising climate leadership in left-behind areas is key for a just transition.
Source: Applied Geography
Authors: Oleg Golubchikov, Sina Shahab, Wolfgang Haupt
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,220
Funders: Leverhulme Trust, British Academy
Award: G5864125889
OpenAlex ID: W7101819012