Economy
Councils can work in a wide variety of ways to support the growth of a low carbon economy and ensure that businesses are less vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, delivering huge economic, social and environmental benefits.
Key opportunities include:
- supporting local economic growth through the development of a low carbon economic strategy that identifies local opportunities and supports the development of local jobs, knowledge and infrastructure
- helping local businesses to cut costs and increase competitiveness by working with them to cut energy, water and resource use
- boosting local employment by ensuring that practical training opportunities are provided in local colleges, including in energy assessment and the installation of solar panels.
Councils and local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) are already engaged in a wide range of action to promote the low carbon economy – with the new freedoms available under the ‘general power of competence’ offering huge scope for action
Case study
Peterborough Council
Peterborough Council’s energy services company ‘Blue Sky Peterborough’ is generating renewable energy and reducing energy consumption while generating income and creating financial benefits for the community.
Challenge 2
Ask yourself:
- How will your local economy be affected by the changing climate?
- How can the council improve local resilience and support local businesses to plan for extreme weather?
- What are the strengths, opportunities and natural advantages for developing the low carbon sector in your ward and the wider local area?
- What could you do to support low carbon activity in your ward?
Housing and planning
There are major opportunities for councils to support local growth and improve people’s lives by making improvements to the local housing stock, setting the framework for development in local plans and by working with local partners to support those most vulnerable. These include:
- saving money for the council and local people by ensuring that local homes, businesses and public buildings use energy and water efficiently
- helping the most vulnerable by understanding who is most at risk from fuel poverty and the impacts of extreme weather such as flooding, over-heating and cold
- boosting the local economy by creating new demand for low-carbon and resilient goods and services and helping to make places safer to invest in
- generating income for the council – making the most of the council’s natural resources and assets to generate power.
Case study
Kirklees Council – affordable heat for all
The council is working to ensure all residents
can afford to heat their homes. More than
50,000 homes have been improved at the time of writing.
Total benefits by 2050 are estimated to be £250 million from an initial investment of £11 million from the council plus £10 million from the energy suppliers.
Case study
Islington Council
Islington Council’s Bunhill Heat and
Power Network uses heat created as a by-product of generating electricity to heat homes, the baths and leisure centres making it more efficient, cheaper and greener. It is bringing cheaper energy to over 700 homes.
Challenge 3
Ask yourself:
- How will your local area be affected by the changing climate and what impacts could this have on local homes and businesses
- What policies are in place to:
- ensure new development is low carbon?
- encourage renewable energy generation
- ensure new development is resilient to
climate impacts like flooding, heat wave, or
reduced water availability?
- encourage existing buildings to be
retrofitted with measures that cut carbon
and increase resilience?
- How could you and the council work with
community organisations within the area to
ensure communities are primed to take
advantage of funding to install energy
saving measures, for example support from
energy companies for people on low
incomes?
Environment and transport
Councils can improve local health and wellbeing and encourage inward investment by promoting sustainable transport and a clean
environment. Many measures can also provide low-cost protection from extreme weather events.
Opportunities include:
- building the resilience of your own estate through appropriate tree planting, water harvesting, use of sustainable drainage and natural shading
- using the planning system to reduce the need to travel and promote cycling, walking and public transport
- promoting green and blue infrastructure by supporting investment natural solutions that will help protect against extreme weather events.
Case study
Devon County Council – building community resilience
The council worked in partnership with
Plymouth City Council, Torbay Council and the Environment Agency to implement a package of measures to improve local resilience in 24 communities, including establishing and training volunteer ‘Flood
Warden’ groups.
Find out more about community flood resilience in Devon.
Case study
Stroud District Council – rural sustainable drainage project
The council is working with local community flood groups, land owners, farmers and partner organisations to implement a range of measures that will reduce flood risk but also improve water quality and enhance the biodiversity of the streams, brooks and the wider River Frome catchment.
Case study
Bristol City Council – promoting active travel
Bristol Council is seeking to make trips by bike the natural choice for their increasing number of commuters in order to tackle congestion and reduce emissions. Bristol Council has committed to:
- consulting on shared use routes – to resolve some of the key issues the council is focusing on delivering segregated infrastructure for cyclists wherever possible
- improving legibility in shared use areas to make it clearer to those on bike and foot
- delivering improved on-street cycle parking, plus up to 20 new on street cycle hangars for residents who have difficulty parking their bike at home
- working closely with the Access Fund to ensure the promotion of new infrastructure to employees, schools and the wider community through new residential developments and their developed network of community groups
- providing loan bikes, cycle training and route planning
- working closely with planning colleagues to ensure that new cycling infrastructure is included in developments.
Challenge 4
Ask yourself:
- What impacts could the changing climate have on the natural environment in your ward including local parks and green spaces, coastlines and rivers?
- What local transport systems might be
vulnerable to climate change in your area
and what is being done to increase
resilience?
- What are the main sources of transport
emissions in your area and how are these
changing? How could these emissions be
cut?
- How are you engaging with the council
and the community to encourage cycling
and walking?
Health and social care
There are major opportunities for councils to support local growth and improve people’s lives and their health by making improvements to the local housing stock, setting the framework for development in local plans and by working with local partners to support the most vulnerable.
These include:
- helping households save money on their energy bills and keep warm by improving the energy efficiency of local homes
- helping the most vulnerable by identifying those most at risk from the impacts of extreme weather such as flooding, over-heating and cold
- working with partners to promote active, healthy lifestyles and to refer those at risk of fuel poverty to sources of help.
The proportion of households in England in fuel poverty in 2015 was estimated at 11 per cent. [Reference: Annual Fuel Poverty Statistics Report 2017, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy]
Levels are highest for people living in privately rented homes.
Challenge 5
Ask yourself:
- How will your area be affected by the changing climate and what impact could this have on local health and health services?
- Are any health services or facilities particularly vulnerable?
- Who is most vulnerable to extreme weather events in your ward? For example, are there older people’s homes which may be vulnerable to increased flood-risk, heatwaves or cold?
- What impact could hotter temperatures have on local air quality and how could this affect local health?
- How many households in your ward are in fuel poverty? What measures can be taken to reduce this number?
Finance
Reducing energy use and avoiding damage costs from extreme weather like flooding makes real financial sense for councils.
Opportunities include:
- direct cost savings – through initiatives to reduce the council’s use of energy and water and to minimise waste – potential savings for low-cost, quick payment energy efficiency measures range from £60,000 to £2.4 million a year for an individual council [Reference: The potential for energy efficiency and renewable energy, Local Government Association]
- income generation – by investing in revenue-generating technology such as microgeneration and decentralised energy, and creating public-private partnerships to minimise risk, maximise investment and boost returns
- pooling resources – working in partnership with others, sharing services and increasing your purchasing power
- external funding – maximising opportunities to bring in investment through external funding mechanisms
- protection from future costs – making sure your area is prepared to manage future weather related costs such as the repair and clear-up from flooding and storm damage.
Case study
Northumberland Council
The council worked with the Environment Agency to jointly deliver a £27 million flood alleviation scheme including a dam, upstream storage area and other flood protection measures to reduce flood risk to around 1,000 properties in Morpeth.
Case study
Woking Borough Council – generating income
ThamesWey Energy Limited (TEL) is an energy company owed by Woking Borough Council. It was set up in May 2000 to build and operate an energy station in Woking town centre. TEL provide low carbon heating, cooling and electricity to buildings within Woking town centre, including the civic offices and has over 170 business and domestic customers who purchase their electricity and heat from the company’s energy stations.
Challenge 6
Ask yourself:
- What are the opportunities to save your council money (and reduce carbon emissions) by becoming more energy, water and resource efficient?
- What are the opportunities for boosting income through local energy generation or other environmental infrastructure?
- Is your council planning now to reduce the costs of future climate impacts in your ward and the wider area?
- Are planning policies in place to reduce the cost of future flood events and reduce insurance costs?