Councils have a significant role to play to support and advance
on the UK’s net zero ambitions in partnership with government,
industry and communities, the Local Government Association says.
Following the G7 summit in Cornwall this past weekend and
ahead of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow this November,
the LGA is highlighting some of the innovative and proactive work
councils are doing across the country to tackle climate
change.
The position of councils as place-shapers, convenors of
communities and businesses, asset-owners, problem solvers and
with significant purchasing and market shaping powers, puts them
at the forefront of delivering real, tangible changes in the
transition to net zero.
Ninety per cent of councils have declared a climate
emergency and many have been devising and implementing new ways
of reducing their carbon footprint, from protecting the
environment, increasing biodiversity, and transforming local
infrastructure.
Some examples include:
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Birmingham City Council
are due to adopt the The Birmingham Transport Plan in October
2021, which will see Birmingham’s road network transformed to
encourage people to walk, cycle and take public transport
instead of private car. The Council has recently introduced
several new cycling routes and pedestrianised areas, rolled-out
e-scooters, e-cargo bikes and bicycle hire; with hydrogen buses
to be rolled-out later this year.
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Oxford
City Council and its wholly owned company, ODS, introduced
the first purpose built, fully integrated electric refuse
collection vehicle this year, providing emission free waste
collection services. The Council is aiming to reach absolute
zero carbon for its direct activities by 2030, and ODS is
looking to convert 25 per cent of its fleet to electric by
2023.
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Surrey
County Council has launched a Solar Together Surrey
initiative aimed at helping residents to make the switch to
solar energy in their homes. Other Solar Together schemes
across the country have helped over 3,700 households install
solar panels, saving over 61,000 tonnes of carbon
emissions.
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Eastleigh Borough Council
have reduced their operational emissions by 35 per cent since
2008 and have set a target of becoming carbon neutral by 2025.
This will be achieved by further improving the energy
efficiency of buildings, transitioning council vehicles to
electric/Ultra Low Emission Vehicles and ‘greening’ their
procurement.
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Middlesbrough Council has
committed to making the authority net carbon neutral in the
next eight years. They are looking to hold a climate conference
with its partners, have gained ‘World Tree City’ status,
planted 15,000 trees and sown 30,000 square metres of urban
flower meadows and acquired five new EVs.
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City of
York Council have secured planning permission for the first
phase of one of the UK’s largest net zero carbon housing
developments. The site of Passivhaus homes will be net zero
when in use and use air source hear pumps and solar panels to
generate renewable energy, giving residents very low energy
bills.
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Waltham
Forest Council retrofitted sheltered housing schemes by
developing a solar-powered system that can generate and store
enough electricity to power the lifts and LED lighting in
communal areas, both day and night. In the first 6 weeks this
reduced the amount of energy imported from the grid by almost
41 per cent.
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Leicester City Council’s
Santander Cycles Leicester is a public e-bike share system for
the city, owned by Leicester City Council, delivered by Ride On
and supported by the Department for Transport (DfT) and
Santander UK. Leicester specific businesses also support the
scheme as a socially inclusive, affordable, easy to use and
zero emission option for active travel.
Cllr David Renard, Environment spokesperson for the LGA,
said:
“Councils understand the urgent need to tackle climate
change and have been making active changes in their communities
to benefit the environment.
“Councils are intrinsic to transitioning our places and
empowering our communities and businesses to a net zero future.
They are well-placed to translate national climate ambitions into
transformative action on the ground.
“By working in partnership with government, councils can
continue to shape their local areas to help achieve net zero
carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner.”
Notes to editors
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G7
Climate and Environment: Ministers’ Communique – 21 May
2021
-
Climate
Change Survey 2020 – Local Government Association
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‘A local
path to net zero’ – Local Government Association
