Low Carbon Communities Challenge Background and Key Impacts

The Low Carbon Communities Challenge is a research and delivery programme which provides financial and advisory support to 20 ‘test-bed’ communities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland that are seeking to cut carbon emissions. The research programme supporting the project is funded by Sciencewise-ERC.

This landmark new project is being led by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC). The Low Carbon Communities Challenge is a research and delivery programme which provides financial and advisory support to 20 ‘test-bed’ communities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland that are seeking to cut carbon emissions. The research programme supporting the project is funded by Sciencewise-ERC.

Launched in September 2009 by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, the first ten participant communities were announced in December with another 10 to be announced early in the New Year.

The Challenge will explore practical ways to improve energy efficiency, produce clean energy and tackle the wider issue of climate change at a community level. The programme will inform Government policy, helping experts to understand the technical innovations and social changes required to enable Britain to reach its carbon reduction objectives. It will also provide a toolkit of practical ideas for other communities and members of the public wanting to take action on climate change.

Building on the success of the Big Energy Shift (also commissioned by DECC and supported by Sciencewise-ERC), this project will focus specifically on the experiences and challenges communities encounter when seeking to implement low carbon initiatives and technologies.

Sciencewise-ERC is helping to design and co-fund the public dialogue for the Challenge, and will be pioneering new ‘devolved and distributed’ approaches to engaging the public in designing, implementing and learning from low carbon initiatives.

With regards to community dialogue specifically, the key objectives are:

• To design public engagement and co-inquiry into the programme to inform policy development and delivery.
• For this engagement to be informed by the evaluation findings from the Big Energy Shift.