The organisations that represent English councils have collaborated in a call for the Government to change its approach on delivering net zero.
The Local Government Association (LGA), District Councils’ Network (DCN), County Councils Network (CCN) and London Councils wrote to net zero minister Claire Coutinho today with a plea for more support on local climate action.
The letter notes the Government's own research found local action could achieve net zero by 2050 for half the cost of a central approach.
Despite this, councils have ‘no clear role’ in delivering the national net zero strategy and no core funding for local action, instead having to bid for central funding pots, the organisations said.
LGA environment spokesperson Darren Rodwell said: ‘Councils are leading transformative projects across the country, but their innovation is being held back by the national approach to the transition to net zero.’
In the letter, local government leaders call for a national climate action framework up to 2050 that sets out the role of councils, multi-year funding allocations, and a ‘local climate action test’ to check whether policy and funding decisions contribute to net zero goals.
DCN net zero spokesperson Sarah Nelmes said: ‘If all local authorities receive stable funding, we can work in partnership with national government and neighbouring authorities to deliver net zero at pace.
‘Empowering councils to tailor schemes to our places will support uptake and ensure our residents’ needs are at the heart of all local climate action.’
