Author Archives: Philippa Borrowman

Why the government shouldn’t ignore the role of local authorities in decarbonisation

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The Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) progress report last week rightly expressed its disappointment that a number of government strategies have been continuously delayed, among them the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, the Heat and Buildings Strategy and the Treasury’s final Net Zero Review. These will all be important as part of the expected overarching Net Zero Strategy which will set the pace for how the government plans to reach its economic goal of net zero carbon by 2050. The CCC hopes that the strategy will address the current significant shortfall in policies and ambition.

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Will the government’s updated fuel poverty strategy have better results?

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Around ten per cent of England’s population is estimated to be living in fuel poverty. This is where households on low incomes live in homes with poor energy efficiency and struggle to pay their energy bills. The government has just published an updated fuel poverty strategy, building on its 2015 predecessor which set out how it aims to support as many homes as is “reasonably practicable” to achieve a minimum energy efficiency rating of Band C (EPC C) by 2030.

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Local authorities need much more support to do their bit on climate

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There is ongoing concern amongst local leaders and environmental organisations that local authorities are not receiving the support and resources they need to reduce emissions in their areas. Last Wednesday the Climate Change Committee (CCC) published its roadmap to show how government can meet its legally binding sixth carbon budget. Alongside this, a separate report was commissioned which emphasised the need for central government and local authorities to “work seamlessly” together to achieve their shared goal of net-zero emissions.

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