“Fight where the enemy isn’t”: cities as sites for energy transition policy moves against the grain of prevailing politics

Different spaces in multilevel governance systems, especially cities, present opportunities for energy transition initiatives even while climate denialist administrations are in office at the level of the nation-state. By “fighting where the enemy isn’t” in sub-national jurisdictions supportive of climate action, real gains can be made. The achievement of 100% renewable electricity in just ten years in Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, is an example. This was achieved despite Australia being governed by climate denialist governments nationally for most of that decade. Political leadership committed to ‘learning by doing’, wedded to explicit policy targets of escalating ambition, was key.