Editor’s note: UK local elections and climate action

The latest edition of our Sustainable Views newsletter

Dear reader,

Local elections will take place in England on Thursday. The outcome will be closely watched to see if the Labour opposition is able to make some real inroads and show what could happen when a general election finally takes place later this year. Whoever is voted in will play a vital role in delivering, or not, on net zero plans, argue Chris Skidmore, former Conservative UK energy minister and now chair of the Mission Zero Coalition, and Christopher Hammond, chief executive of UK100, an organisation supporting local councils on their net zero transitions.  

“All politicians elected this year will have a pivotal role to play in delivering the UK’s climate ambitions,” write Skidmore and Hammond in Sustainable Views. “It will be under their stewardship the country will either meet its emissions reduction target of 68 per cent on 1990s levels by 2030, as set out in our nationally determined contribution to the UN, or it will fail.

“Local authorities have influence over sectors accounting for 82 per cent of the nation’s emissions,” they add. Skidmore and Hammond also underline the importance of drawing up local area energy plans, to “deliver change and the energy transition rapidly, helping to demonstrate where inward investment can be made in their communities”.

A survey of 5,000 people from non-profits Climate Outreach and More in Common shows the British public wants stronger government leadership on climate and nature. The study reveals a majority (60 per cent) of British people want to move ahead with net zero and believe reaching net zero will be good for the UK. It also demonstrates public support for investing heavily in renewables and for a cross-party approach to climate action, something Skidmore and Hammond are also pushing.

“People tell us investment in tackling climate change makes them feel positive,” says Climate Outreach chief executive Rachael Orr. “Political parties should take note that being bold and ambitious on climate and nature offers the possibility for people to feel hopeful about the future.

“People don’t want to be left alone to face and tackle climate change,” adds Orr. “They want to feel part of a wider change and they need proper financial support to transition to net zero, especially for those on the lowest incomes. They want to hear far more about how we are going to address climate change and they want to talk much more about this — especially face to face and in their local areas.”

More in Common UK director Luke Tryl says: “It’s been obvious for a while that political opinion in Westminster is lagging behind public opinion” on the issue of climate change. “The public don’t want climate to become a wedge issue or a race to the bottom. Instead, they want to see political parties working together on an issue of vital national importance.” 

Non-profit Common Wealth argues Labour should lift the £3.3bn spending cap on its investment plans for community-owned energy providers if it forms the next government. While renewable energy projects owned by local communities are relatively common in some EU countries, such as Denmark where this is the case for half of its wind energy, growth has stagnated in the UK, says Common Wealth. The growth rate of community-owned energy dropped to just 2.4 per cent in 2020-21 from 81 per cent in 2016-17. 

It is not just the UK government whose attitude towards climate change is in the spotlight. Research by consultancy Bain & Company and non-profit CDP warns companies in the UK will stop decarbonising in three years’ time if their emissions reductions continue to slow at their current rate. An analysis of 1,797 UK companies reveals only 62 per cent were achieving yearly emissions reductions in line with the Paris Agreement in 2023, compared with 67 per cent in the previous year. 

Meanwhile, Florence reports that trade unions at an International Energy Agency conference in Paris, France, have warned that clean energy jobs are being created in countries with the highest levels of renewables and not in communities where fossil fuel-related jobs are being lost.

Until tomorrow,

Philippa

Philippa Nuttall is the editor of Sustainable Views