A consultation on a new local government sector-led approach to committing to take action on climate change was undertaken between August and September 2011. The aim of the consultation was to gauge councils' enthusiasm for a new Nottingham Declaration, and what a new declaration should look like. A total of 154 local authorities took part in the consultation, which was a 54 per cent response rate. Additional responses were received from representative bodies such as Core Cities and the Carbon Action Network.
Following this consultation, and working with the Nottingham Declaration Partnership, we will be launching a new initiative called 'Climate Local – a local commitment to action on climate change'. Councils also supported a ‘tackling climate change' route map for local authorities to help them continue to progress and improve their performance. Councils want a coordinated way to share good practice, information, data and benchmarking. This is why we're going to be using the good work of the Local Carbon Framework pilots to develop a ‘Council Framework on Climate Change'
The Local Carbon Frameworks pilots provide an excellent example of how councils, if they are given the opportunity, can rise to the challenge and tackle the issue of climate change. The breadth of work that the 30 councils in the nine pilot areas undertook deserves to be applauded. This sector-led approach to improvement has to be the most effective and efficient way for local authorities to make progress – by learning from each other. These pioneering councils have provided us with a good starting point for launching the Green Deal, which will provide an opportunity for residents and businesses to improve the energy efficiency of their properties at no upfront costs, reaping the benefits through lower bills.