Visit our devolution and LGR hub for the latest information, support and resources
How are we supporting and working with all relevant private and civic actors in the area towards climate change mitigation and adaptation?
LGA resources
The LGA partnered with the Business Services Association (BSA) to deliver a webinar on how councils and businesses can work together to meet their carbon reduction targets.
Webinar: Council and Business Collaboration for the Climate Emergency
The LGA has been working to partner universities with councils to explore ways of achieving their carbon emission targets, through the Net Zero Innovation Programme.
Our climate emergency report provides a basis for having local conversations about adaptation and mitigation, as well as providing comments and case studies from a range of organisations and programmes working on the issue.
Delivered in partnership between the LGA and Design Council, the Design in Public Sector programme (DIPS) equips councils with design skills and methods to apply to their toughest local climate challenges and most ambitious aspiration or mission.
The aims of the Design in the Public Sector Programme are to:
- Build cross-sector partnerships that collaboratively explore climate challenges locally to generate demonstrator projects
- Build design skills and capabilities within the council and across partners, to reduce the impact of climate change, through mitigation or adaptation
- Deliver an accelerated learning experience for local authorities
- Create new insights and evidence to generate solutions
- Enable new ways of working with partners and stakeholders
- Create a community of practice around climate action across the sector sharing best practice, insight and key learning
- To use the evidence and insight generated around climate action to inform policy recommendations
We are currently working with the following councils on a number of innovative climate change projects:
| Council | Project |
|---|---|
| City of London Corporation | Working with surrounding councils in the creation of a Riverside Strategy for raising the Thames flood defences |
| Ealing Council and Slough Borough Council | Supporting local businesses to understand and measure their carbon accounting |
| Kent County Council and Canterbury Council | Working together to produce a climate action plan |
| Cheshire West and Chester Council | Working with residents to review and co-produce the Council’s Climate Emergency Response plan and facilitate continued resident engagement |
| Babergh & Mid Suffolk District Councils | Engaging with communities to get them involved in understanding the biodiversity in their local areas and working with them to identify supportive activity that they could lead or take part in |
| Plymouth City Council | Delivering a citywide network of mobility hubs, offering low or zero carbon transport options |
| Surrey County Council and LB Richmond upon Thames | Supporting a shift to a procurement process that incorporates environmental considerations and building in a circular economy |
| St Helens Council | Designing a Green Recovery Strategy and Action Plan with a focus on economic growth and environmental sustainability |
| Kendal Town Council and South Lakeland District Council | Working with the Kendal Climate Change Citizens Jury to action recommendations following their assembly on ‘What should Kendal do about Climate Change’ |
As their projects progress, we will update the webpage with further information and shared learning. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]
Case studies and notable practice
Partnering with the English Chamber Orchestra’s Close Encounters team, Urbanwise.London, and Fulham Academy Trust, Hammersmith & Fulham Council co-designed a musical exploration of the Thames, which saw six local primary schools explore its ecology and history. In addition, through creating musical instruments from recycled materials, children got to experience first-hand how they can reuse and recycle everyday products for alternative uses.
Hammersmith & Fulham Council: Thames Music Makers - educating children about climate through music
Wiltshire Council’s Climate Team supported a research project aiming to bring Maths to life for Year 7 students. Partnered with a Maths Teacher from a local school, the team developed a challenge to support their Statistics module – using real data from the Council’s public consultation on its draft Climate Strategy. The project focused on Mean, Median, Mode and Range at the level required for Year 7. Students created tally charts, bar charts and pictograms, calculated emissions, money savings and funding, and analysed how Wiltshire residents feel about climate change and the Council’s plans.
The Go Green Schools project documented the extent to which primary schools in Colchester have embedded environmental education and action into their ethos, practices and operations.
Colchester Borough Council and the University of Essex: Go Green Schools project
Portsmouth climate festival was an event to raise awareness of the climate challenges in the city, highlighting both the implications of climate change for Portsmouth, and the opportunities to make a positive difference.
Winchester City Council has been working with Winchester Action on Climate Change (WinACC) and the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) to support the development of climate action hubs across the Winchester district.
Winchester City Council: Community and parish climate engagement
To get their estate to net zero by 2030 and prepare the borough for the impact of the climate crisis, Lambeth council have created a ‘future fit’ package for schools.
The Zero Carbon Communities grant scheme is part of a wider programme of practical and financial support to non-profit organisations and parish councils for action with local communities on climate change.
South Cambridgeshire District Council: Zero Carbon Communities grant scheme
Walk the Global Walk’ is a three-year international project which focuses on mobilising young people in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Carmarthenshire County Council is working in partnership with Dolen Cymru Lesotho, supporting 15 schools with a focus on climate action. Pupil ambassadors raise awareness of climate change, lead actions in their communities and come together to share their work with decision makers in the annual Global Walk.
Carmarthenshire County Council: Walk the Global Walk Project
Forest of Dean Climate Action is a climate emergency community partnership that is currently being established to coordinate a district wide community-based response to the climate emergency. It will bring together communities, businesses and organisations from across the district to deliver community led climate action through collaboration, empowerment and knowledge sharing, with the imperative of driving the district to become carbon neutral by 2030.
Forest of Dean District Council: Climate Emergency Community Partnership
Cheltenham Borough Council formed the Cheltenham Zero Partnership, with charity partner Vision21. The partnership will establish a strong network of businesses, community groups and the public sector to help lead the charge for the borough’s aim for carbon neutrality by 2030.
Twenty five partner organisations, led by Devon County Council, including all eleven councils and two national park authorities, are collaborating on the production of a Devon Carbon Plan to show a pathway to getting Devon to net zero by 2050 at the latest.
Entrust, a joint venture between Capita and Staffordshire County Council has worked with numerous schools and district councils to deliver ambitious decarbonisation programmes across Staffordshire.
Staffordshire County Council and Entrust: Supporting schools to reach a net zero future
Warwickshire County Council has committed to reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2030 and is supporting its communities to do the same by 2050 at the very latest. To overcome barriers to action and to enable communities to deliver their own local solutions, the council created a £1 million fund Community Climate Change Fund called Green Shoots.
Hampshire County Council are working in partnership to deliver community projects on climate change, have set up an expert forum to engage with community groups and launched residential projects that will support efforts in reducing Hampshire-wide carbon emissions.
The Hertfordshire Leaders Group, attended by all council leaders, established the Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership. It aims to share information, coordinate and influence solutions, and bring forward proposals for key interventions around climate change and sustainability across Hertfordshire.
Cambridgeshire County Council partnered with researchers from the University of Cambridge to address the question of how they should work with local communities to tackle the climate emergency, which highlighted the untapped potential of young people.
Cambridgeshire County Council: Tackling the climate emergency by engaging young people
Leicestershire County Council is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030. They set up the Midlands Energy Performance Contract and appointed Veolia as delivery partner to deliver energy and carbon savings projects.
Leicestershire County Council and Veolia deliver carbon and energy savings in the Midlands
ENGIE is redeveloping the former 1GW coal fired power station at Rugeley, Staffordshire, as an exemplar of low carbon residential development and mixed use placemaking.
An exemplar of low carbon residential development and mixed use placemaking
The two Retrofit Accelerators – Workplaces and Homes – are part of the Mayor’s Energy for Londoners programme which aims to make London’s homes warm, healthy and affordable, its workplaces more energy efficient, and to supply the capital with more local clean energy.
Cambridgeshire County Council runs the Cambridge University Science and Policy Exchange (CUSPE) Policy Challenges programme, which unites researchers, councillors and officers in a collaborative, research-led approach to policy making, including around climate change.
Cambridgeshire County Council Policy Collaboration with Cambridge University Researchers
Bath & North East Somerset Council is on an ambitious path to carbon neutrality by 2030, having declared a Climate Emergency in March 2019.
Bath & North East Somerset Council: Lean on partners’ campaigns
Action on Climate in Teignbridge is a Community Interest Company set up in 2019 by volunteers in response to Teignbridge District Council declaring a climate emergency in April 2019.
Action on Climate in Teignbridge: Conversations make a difference
Highlighted pages
Climate change resources
Alongside the majority of councils, the LGA has declared a climate emergency. We offer a wide range of resources to help councils address environmental sustainability.
A local path to net zero
Councils want to work as partners with government, industry and communities to tackle climate change. They are intrinsic to transitioning our places and empowering our communities and businesses to net zero future.