The interests, ideas, and institutions shaping public participation in local climate change governance in Ireland

Wagner, Paul M.; Lima, Valesca

Abstract

Public participation in local governance is crucial for effective climate action and for ensuring that policies are designed in a way that respects the rights of communities. Policy developments and choices are shaped by the groups that participate, by the ideas that they hold, and by the institutions that enable and constrain their participation. This paper seeks to understand local climate change governance in Ireland by identifying the environmental interests and the ideas of the groups that participate, and by examining how they engage with institutionalised local policymaking processes and with the organisations that represent the officially recognised views of the country’s national environmental movement. An analysis of survey data collected from the groups that are members of one of Ireland’s Public Participation Networks shows that a majority of groups are small, rural, voluntary, interested in a wide variety of environmental issues and have a pro-ecological worldview. Most groups follow a pro-institutional advocacy strategy at the local level, while only a minority interact with the national environmental movement, mostly limiting their engagement to the acquisition of information. This paper contributes to the literature that examines how interests, ideas, and institutions shape public participation in local climate politics.

Citation

Wagner, P. M., & Lima, V. (2024). The interests, ideas, and institutions shaping public participation in local climate change governance in Ireland. Local Environment, 29(9), 1170-1184. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2023.2284946

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 18, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Nov 27, 2023
• Publication Date: 2024
• Deposit Date: Nov 28, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 28, 2023
• Journal: Local Environment
• Print ISSN: 1354-9839
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-6711
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 29
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 1170-1184
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2023.2284946
• Keywords: Climate change; Inclusive institutions; Participatory planning; Ireland; New Ecological Paradigm Scale
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/3398468