Cutting carbon locally: the local government offer on energy and climate

Morning workshop session, 29 June 2011

In March 2011, the Local Government Association signed a historic agreement with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC): a Memorandum of Understanding on climate change that sets out how the two organisations will enable councils to continue their positive action on climate change, carbon reduction, fuel poverty and renewable energy. This builds on the request from the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change at the LG Group’s last annual conference for an ‘Offer on Climate Change’ from local government. This session set out for members how the Memorandum of Understanding will work in practice, how environmental initiatives can raise finance and pay for themselves, the new resources that will be available under the new Green Deal and the implications of the Energy Act 2011 for councils.

The session was chaired by Clyde Loakes, (Vice Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Environment and Housing Programme Board), with speakers Dave Allport (Birmingham Energy Savers) and Joe Goldberg (Borough of Haringey). Much of the session consisted of case studies showing how local community and local authority schemes had created sustainable, self-financing, community-owned mechanisms to drive carbon reductions. There was particular discussion on the use of revolving financing mechanisms, the Nottingham declaration of 2001 on the causes and consequences of climate change, and the choice of technologies for tacking climate change.

Sciencewise is working to support citizen participation in local approaches to climate change through DECC’s Low Carbon Communities Programme. It is also exploring local engagement with DECC and the Technology Strategy Board in relation to 2050 carbon targets and the 4th energy budget.