UK activists were well represented at the mass international mobilisations at COP 15, taking part in collective action with a focus on global ecological justice. Many of these activists are part of existing national networks, which in turn are drawn from local groups- in towns, cities, regions, around the country. Drawing on individual narratives of current participation and reflecting on UK green protest since the early 1990’s, this paper traces patterns inherent in UK mobilisation repertoires of green action, identifying the importance of cycles and scales. Drawing on Tarrow’s (1998) identification of ‘cycles of contention’, the paper discusses how the current generation of UK activists ‘re-cycles’ green action frames and action strategies from previous generations, building capacity, and simultaneously negotiates multiple scales of contention. Mass international protests such as COP 15 provide opportunities for UK activists to highlight the global impact of climate change, to demonstrate the ‘scale of opposition’ (in the words of one activist) and learn about each others’ situated experiences. National actions such as UK climate camp are seen as important spaces for movement capacity building and providing opportunities for effective action with specific targets; while in the day to day, for many activists, global climate justice action is situated and framed at the level of local community action, where it is often seen as being most ‘effective’. This flowing between scales of contention provides a narrative of what has been termed the ‘spatialities of transnational networks’ (Featherstone et al 2007).
