Local government's ambition on delivering Net Zero is not being mirrored or adequately enabled at the national level, according to new reports published today.
UK100 has published eight sector-based reports, to assess local government progress against the UK's Net Zero targets.
Half of UK100's members that were interviewed said funding, capacity and regulation/policy issues are the biggest barriers to realising local Net Zero ambitions.
UK100 is making a number of recommendations to achieve Net Zero including improving the ability of local authorities to access private finance, the Government to set a floor, not a ceiling on local ambition, and embed Net Zero decision-making across all government structures.
Jason Torrance, assistant chief executive at UK100, said: 'Local government progress on Net Zero has been significant over the last year, with ambitious local leaders - from across the political and geographical spectrum - making real headway for their communities and the planet. But it is clear that local authorities face significant national barriers that are stifling their ability to do more, more urgently.
'As voters recognise, the major roadblocks to accelerating Net Zero action are the limited powers and resources already stretched local authorities have at their disposal. There is an urgent need to overhaul the diversity of small, short-term, competitive funding slots made available for Net Zero - as suggested by the former Levelling Up Minister Michael Gove. Net Zero is neither a competition nor a short-term goal. It needs real, stable investment.'
A new YouGov poll, commissioned by UK100, found that while 80% of people in the UK support boosting renewable energy projects to reduce energy bills but feel local leaders have too little powers and too few resources to tackle climate change.
The polling showed that a third of people (34%) felt local leaders are best placed to tackle the climate crisis. However, half (54%) said their local authority had too few resources to take effective action, and 42% said they had too little power.
