BARRIERS TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF LOCAL AUTHORITY CARBON MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME: LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE

Climate change and how to address it has become a major social and political issue around the globe. In order to tackle the challenges of climate change, attention needs to be focused not only at the international and national level but also on how climate change policy is taking shape locally. As such, there has been increasing interest to the part that local places can play in the pursuit of environmental protection and ultimately sustainable development. Easterling et al.(l998: 247) assert that "action to abate greenhouse gas emissions is inherently within the provenance of local institutions and communities." Local authorities are well placed to influence carbon reduction from energy use in urban areas through the implementation of policies and measures customised to reflect local circumstances, opportunities and constraints. However, in order to build credibility, local authorities must go further in proactively applying carbon reduction measures in its own management and activities. Only then can they convince other actors of the need to implement such measures themselves. This research aims to explore the role of local government in the adoption of local level climate change policy, and investigates the main issues and barriers that exist during the implementation of carbon reduction strategies. Through semi-structured interviews, it draws on the experiences of fourteen local authorities who have partnered with the Carbon Trust and implemented the Local Authority Carbon Management Programme. The results establish that the main barriers to the implementation of carbon reduction strategies lie in the realm of practical implementation. It identified that the barriers can be categorised into the following typologies; technical, cultural and financial. In conclusion, these barriers can be overcome with improved understanding and adoption of institutional capacity-building mechanisms. It also highlighted that greater focus on horizontal communication with other local authorities is needed. Networking allows for 'best practice' experience to be shared as well as creating a spirit of cooperation to help each other achieve their goals.Faculty of Scienc