Collective Action for Transformative Change: The Case of Helston Climate Action Group (UK)

Previous research has shown that ‘business as usual’ approaches are inadequate for dealing with the complexities of climate change, highlighting the need for a new climate governance framework with better capacity to support sustainability transformation. In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of the transformative influence of collective action groups in terms of decreasing emissions, fostering adaptation, and assuring systemic change. It is thus vital to grasp how these processes are initiated and operationalized. This paper employs transformation and place-based governance literature to develop an analytical framework for analyzing how the Helston Climate Action Group promotes carbon neutrality in Helston. According to the findings, the Helston Climate Action Group encourages systemic change at the individual and community levels via leadership, experiential learning, and co-created solutions engendered towards carbon neutrality. Resultantly, 11 tonnes of CO2 have been saved by making notable adjustments to how they travel, heat their houses, eat, where they acquire goods and keep their money, and how they spend their leisure time. Additionally, it reveals that approaches to reducing carbon emissions and implementing transformative change within a specific geographical setting for sustainability are more effective when supported by strong networks, strong leadership, effective community participation, and information exchange. However, because the Helston Climate Action Group is a relatively new initiative, it is unknown how their efforts will be sustained and to what extent the already executed projects will generate the desired outcomes.