Communities on the front line of climate change

“Think global, act local!” has long been a saying in the environmental movement and is essential when it comes to taking action on climate change.  Local Councils can be powerful leaders in their area - able to work with communities, business and other public bodies in a lasting way. Local Councillors, rooted in their communities - can speak up and make change happen, designing and delivering local action to this global problem.

That local action recognise and can address community concerns about the local risks climate change poses. These risks have serious, real and wide impacts. The independent climate risk assessment identifies harms to:

• “The functioning of our economy,
• Our physical health and wellbeing,
• The comfort, security and safety of our homes and places of work, 
• The functioning of the infrastructure on which we depend, 
• The state of the natural world, which supports our food production and other vital services”. 

It is clear, climate action is needed locally, not just by Government. Preparation and action is needed now to reduce carbon emissions, but its more than that… we must  help communities adapt and increase resilience and support nature based solutions. All of which are worthwhile investments. 

And local Councils are wanting to take on that role - between 2018 and October 2020 over 300 Councils declared a ‘Climate Emergency’. A declaration based on a recognition that Local Authorities are directly responsible for 2-5%^{Note 1} of local green house gas emissions in an area but can potentially influence around a third or more of an area’s emissions through place-shaping, such as through the planning system and their local leadership roles. 

The Climate Change Committee said, in its 6th Carbon budget report, that Government and Local Authorities share a common goal and stated Councils play a vital role in climate action. They identified four key things to achieve collaborative delivery: 

• “Framework: An agreed framework for delivery for Net Zero incorporating local and national climate action 
• Financing: Appropriate long-term financing to support local authorities in delivering Net Zero 
• Flexibility: Local operational flexibility around how local areas address climate change
• Facilitation: coherent policy and powers for the facilitation of delivery.” 

But with no clear powers to act on climate change Councils currently have to work it out for themselves. Many councillors are frustrated with the gaps in powers, policies and spending pots - leaving little capacity to enable local climate action. So many are calling for a Climate Change Statutory Duty on local authorities. As well as setting the expectation that action on climate change is also local function, a Statutory Duty will devolve the responsibility, the funds and ability to act.

This call has been heard by the Local Government Association which set out its expectations that the public sector is expected to play a leading role in its Local Government White Paper. To do that Government needs to hand powers to local authorities so they can work with the communities to act locally.

The LGA’s Local Infrastructure and Net Zero Board has offered broad agreement and support for councils taking on a statutory duty for climate change. The LGA’s Local Infrastructure and Net Zero Board and the LGA  is currently exploring what this would mean for Councils in practice.

A Statutory Duty could:

1. Ensure all Councils take action on climate change, not just those which have declared a climate emergency.
2. Require the impact on, and of, climate change to be considered as part of all decision making, investment planning and spending.
3. Enable local communities to be at the forefront of designing climate friendly solutions to meet local needs from health and wellbeing, to warm homes, through to local economic development.
4. Enable Councils and other public bodies and UK Government to work together on climate action.

The LGA survey on the scope of a Statutory Duty is here Local government and legal responsibilities to act on climate change: An LGA open consultation | Local Government Association  and closes Friday 30 May 2025 at 11.45pm.

Your response is vital!

Cllr Diana Moore

Diana is a Green Party Councillor for St David’s ward on Exeter City Council. Diana is an experienced business advisor, working with social enterprises, charities and councils.

Note https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Local-Authorities-and-the-Sixth-Carbon-Budget.pdf