Party politics and the effectiveness of local climate change policy frameworks: green influence from the sidelines

Are national-level party political drivers of climate change performance reproduced locally? Here, I explore whether Greens' ability to influence climate commitment nationally via legislative presence and coalition partnership is translated into English local government, using Climate Emergency gradings of local authority policy frameworks as the focus of comparative analysis. Scholarship on English local authority policy-making and performance suggests that, on balance, we should expect to see Green legislative presence and governing coalition effects translate to this level of government. While the finding of a positive Green legislative presence effect adds weight to the characterisation of local climate governance in England as a relatively collaborative process, the null finding on the coalition effect raises questions over the ability of junior coalition partners to realise preferences rapidly. Given the importance of sub-national politics to successful climate change transformation, it is vital that the factors associated with strengthened local commitment be further explored.

Automated summary

This article explores whether the national-level influence of political parties on climate change translates into local government in England. It specifically focuses on the Climate Emergency ratings of local authority policies as a comparative analysis. The findings suggest that Green parties have a positive impact on local climate governance through legislative presence, but the effectiveness of coalition partnerships in realizing preferences is questionable. Further research is needed to understand the factors associated with strengthened local commitment, given the importance of sub-national politics in successful climate change transformation.