Placing Decarbonisation: The power and politics of implementing Greater Manchester’s visions

Student thesis: Phd

Abstract

The omnipresent threat of climate change emphasises the importance of decarbonising society. There is the need to shift beyond planning for decarbonisation to implementing the required actions. Increasingly, decarbonisation visions and approaches are being undertaken in subnational places, including towns, cities, and city regions. Framing decarbonisation at these subnational scales facilitates the development (and implementation) of place-based approaches, that better capture the contexts in which actions are to be undertaken. Yet, this process of rescaling and the place-based approaches developed raises questions over the governance of actions, and the associated politics and power dynamics. Focusing upon a case study of Greater Manchester - a city region in the North West of England that has outlined ambitions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2038 - this thesis unpacks how place-based decarbonisation visions are framed, developed and implemented. Insights are developed through a document analysis, social network analysis, and 34 expert interviews with actors associated with Greater Manchester’s decarbonisation vision. Whilst being framed at the scale of the city region, Greater Manchester’s decarbonisation vision is dependent on the implementation of actions at sub-city region scales, with collective action underpinning the approaches developed. The visions established and the scales at which action is (expected) to occur has different impacts on different individuals and communities in society. As such, current power dynamics need to be addressed, and different perspectives incorporated into decision-making processes, to ensure an inclusive decarbonisation vision for Greater Manchester is established. A place-based relational lens is proposed to facilitate the identification of the (multi-scalar) relationships between different actors, infrastructures and places which inform, influence (and are influenced by) the place-based decarbonisation vision developed. Through this analysis, the consequence of multi-scalar relationships on the materiality of place(s) are identified. The understandings developed in this thesis contribute toward debates on the influence of place and the complexity of governing contemporary challenges. There is the need to further refine the configuration of place-based approaches, and greater flexibility needs to be incorporated into visions, to ensure approaches are reflective of the multiplicity of place. The insights can inform the practices of policymakers to help develop more inclusive decarbonisation visions that better reflect (or are flexible towards) the diverse contexts of individuals and communities in society.
Date of Award31 Dec 2023
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • The University of Manchester
SupervisorKate Scott (Supervisor), James Evans (Supervisor) & Saska Petrova (Supervisor)

Keywords

  • Place
  • Decarbonisation
  • Relational Thinking
  • Visions

Cite this

'