The Local Government Association (LGA) has said that only councils can lead the local climate action required to meet net zero targets after a report described Government progress as ‘worryingly slow’.
In its 2023 progress report to parliament, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) says that its confidence in the UK meeting its goals from 2030 onwards is ‘now markedly less’ than it was last year.
Responding to the report, Cllr Darren Rodwell, environment spokesperson for the LGA, said: ‘Councils can have impact on over 80% of emissions from their area – from transport and housing to renewable energy.
‘As local leaders, only councils can lead targeted local climate action in our villages, towns and cities that hit net zero targets for half the costs and generate three times the returns.
‘To deliver this we need backing to rapidly retrofit social and fuel poor homes, decarbonise transport, protect and grow biodiversity, and powers to roll out renewable energy schemes.’
The CCC report also stresses that ‘radical reform’ to planning policy is needed, and that the planning system should have an ‘overarching requirement that all planning decisions give full regard to the imperative of net zero’.
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