The LGA is showcasing councils’ good practice in addressing climate change
COP27 is the UN Climate Change Conference that aims to mobilise global action to confront the climate crisis.
With this global summit fast approaching, the LGA is excited to showcase the good practice councils are deploying across the country to address climate change.
We have refreshed our Pass the Planet campaign from last year’s COP26 in Glasgow, to promote good practice and universal learning, and support the scaling up of climate actions.
Wales and every English region have been spotlighted and a best practice map showcases the great work happening.
The campaign focuses on the four COP goals – mitigation, adaptation, collaboration, and finance – with new and refreshed case studies on each, highlighting the impact and learning from these best practices (see below for some examples).
You can hear more about councils’ exciting work on climate action at our virtual webinar, ‘Pass the Planet: showcasing local climate action on the COP27 goals’, on 8 November.
To book your free place at this and other events visit the LGA events page (including a regional retrofit action-planning webinar on 6 December).
Meanwhile, our climate change hub provides a wealth of additional information and sets out the support available from the LGA to help councils and residents reach their local carbon reduction targets.
Climate action case studies
Mitigation
Durham County Council took part in a ‘Scaling on street charging infrastructure’ project to improve the availability of electric vehicle charging points across the county and make electric vehicles more accessible to rural communities.
It was important to ensure charging points were near residential housing, accessible to all, reliable, safe and secure.
The council has successfully installed 77 charging points so far, and produced a best practice guide with a series of recommendations for other local authorities looking at conducting similar projects.
Adaptation
Brighton & Hove City Council’s Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan recognises and sets out plans to deliver the infrastructure needed to improve and adapt the city’s active travel network – ensuring that it is accessible, easy, welcoming, enjoyable, and safe.
This will include embedding active travel into all transport schemes, including everyday improvements and maintenance, thus creating the foundations for the whole community to have practical choices to travel by walking, wheeling, or cycling in a healthy and sustainable way.
Finance
Warrington Borough Council has piloted the use of community municipal bonds (CMBs), a fundraising tool for local authorities, to fund renewable energy projects. These allow councils to raise money directly from residents.
Bonds were issued by the council to members of the public, who could invest as little as £5 and get regular return payments on this investment.
In Warrington, the £1 million target was reached and the money raised has been used for low-carbon infrastructure, to speed up carbon emissions reductions.
Collaboration
Wiltshire Council has committed to being a carbon neutral organisation by 2030, and such a bold ambition required an equally bold climate strategy (see first 667).
The council wanted to ensure the community was involved in driving new policy, so they developed an engagement strategy to reach a broad demographic, with a focus on those currently not engaged in the climate agenda.
The strategy saw Wiltshire publish a climate strategy discussion document, then engage the community through webinars, consultations, an electronic survey and face-to-face events with residents, schools, and disability groups. This was supported by coverage from all major local media.