Repositioning urban governments? Energy efficiency and Australia’s changing climate and energy governance regimes

McGuirk, Pauline; Dowling, Robyn; Bulkeley, Harriet

doi:10.1177/0042098014533732

Repositioning urban governments? Energy efficiency and Australia’s changing climate and energy governance regimes

McGuirk, Pauline; Dowling, Robyn; Bulkeley, Harriet

Authors

Pauline McGuirk

Robyn Dowling

Professor Harriet Bulkeley h.a.bulkeley@durham.ac.uk
Deputy Executive Dean (Research)

Abstract

Urban local governments are important players in climate governance, and their roles are evolving. This review traces the changing nexus of Australia’s climate policy, energy policy and energy efficiency imperatives and its repositioning of urban local governments. We characterise the ways urban local governments’ capacities and capabilities are being mobilised in light of a changing multi-level political opportunity structure around energy efficiency. The shifts we observe not only extend local governments’ role in implementing climate change responses but also engage them as partners in conceiving and operationalising new measures, suggesting new ground is being opened in the urban politics of climate governance. A review of the Australian context provides important insights for the new politics of energy in the city as, internationally, energy efficiency is reframed as a climate change issue and the city is repositioned as an important strategic space in energy politics and the governance of energy systems.

Citation

McGuirk, P., Dowling, R., & Bulkeley, H. (2014). Repositioning urban governments? Energy efficiency and Australia’s changing climate and energy governance regimes. Urban Studies, 51(13), 2717-2734. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098014533732

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Oct 1, 2014
Deposit Date	Jun 10, 2014
Publicly Available Date	Jun 18, 2014
Journal	Urban Studies
Print ISSN	0042-0980
Electronic ISSN	1360-063X
Publisher	SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	51
Issue	13
Pages	2717-2734
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098014533732
Keywords	Australia cities, Climate governance, Energy efficiency, Geography, Local government.

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Copyright Statement
The final definitive version of this article has been published in the journal Urban Studies, 51/13, 2014 © SAGE Publications Ltd at the Urban Studies page: http://usj.sagepub.com/ on SAGE Journals Online: http://online.sagepub.com/