The LGA's green finance guide supports councils in England to find the most appropriate ways to finance their green ambition.
Ongoing concern about the changing climate is high amongst councils and the wider public. In response to this most councils have either declared a climate emergency or formally debated the issue and expressed their concern.
There is a clear need to act, but we are working against a backdrop of 10 years of austerity and budgets depleted further by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The LGA undertook a member survey in March 2020 at which time the overwhelming issue most councils were concerned with when tackling climate change was the ability to fund the measures necessary.
Over the last couple of years, the Government has made a series of announcements which impact green finance for councils. Most significantly these include the establishment of the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB), announced in November 2020, the response to the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) consultation in November 2020 and the Net Zero Strategy in autumn 2021. It will be refreshing its Green Finance Strategy (GFS) during 2022.
The LGA and Local Partnerships have produced a green finance guide to provide both practical guidance and examples of good practice to support councils in England to find the most appropriate and affordable ways to finance their green ambition.
You can access the guide via the link below.