Case Study: Can you 'Fight' City Hall on Climate Change? Tales from Manchester, UK

Case Study: Can you 'fight' City Hall on Climate Change? Tales from Manchester, UK. In the run-up to the Copenhagen climate conference (2009) climate activists and civil society had success in working with Manchester City Council (UK) to create a collaborative climate strategy for the city with ambitious carbon reduction targets and the aim to engage citizens in creating a “low carbon culture.” The political opportunity closed, for inter-related reasons such as austerity, movement exhaustion, and bureaucratic inertia. In February 2014 an open letter to ManchesterCouncil - listing 9 potentially catalytic actions around policy-creation and implementation - was circulated and gained traction. This case study will examine the motivations, capacities and actions of actors (social movements, politicians, bureaucrats) via interviews, participant observation and theory. Does “policy success” help social movements grow? How? When? What skills are needed, and how are they acquired, shared, developed?