Councillor workbook – Acting on climate change

This workbook is relevant for all councillors. but it also touches on some of the key opportunities in the climate portfolio area. Further information can be obtained from our resources on key services for building resilience: flooding, energy efficiency and transport.

The workbook can be used as a standalone learning aid or alongside other material you may cover such as e-learning modules or sessions within your own council. As such, the workbook should serve more as a direction marker rather than a road map. The important thing is to think about the issues presented in the workbook, their relevance to your local setting, the people you serve and the council as a whole.

The workbook can be used as a standalone learning aid or alongside other material you may cover such as e-learning modules or sessions within your own council. As such, the workbook should serve more as a direction marker rather than a road map. The important thing is to think about the issues presented in the workbook, their relevance to your local setting, the people you serve and the council as a whole.

This workbook includes a number of features designed to help you think about the role that you and your council can play in creating a low carbon, climate-resilient community. It includes key facts, case studies and questions to help prompt your thinking on key areas:

• why the agenda matters
• the role you and your council can play, particularly around leadership in this area
• the opportunities for taking action, focusing on:
• the economy
• housing and planning
• environment and transport
• health and social care
• finance.

Throughout this workbook you will encounter different types of information, and suggested actions, indicated by the symbols shown below:

Guidance

– this icon indicates guidance such as definitions, quotations and research

 

Challenges

– this icon indicates questions asking you to reflect on your role or approach

 

Case studies

– this icon indicates examples of approaches used in different settings

 

Hints and tips

– this icon indicates best practice advice

 

Useful links

– this icon indicates sources of additional information

Action to cut carbon and increase resilience can save councils thousands of pounds on their energy bills while also avoiding millions of pounds of future costs that will be incurred if no adaptive actions are taken.

There are also economic benefits in providing low cost energy infrastructure for local businesses, and the potential for innovation in new technologies to provide a low carbon future.

Councils can work to ensure that their area benefits as much as possible from employment in this sector. Further economic benefits will accrue from helping people without jobs or on low incomes to heat homes affordably, freeing up spending power for other goods and services.

With energy bills on the increase, fuel poverty is also rising, and this costs the NHS around £1.4 billion a year. Tackling the causes of fuel poverty, rather than the symptoms, will result in this bill being reduced, making economic sense as well as increasing wellbeing.

There are also opportunities to avoid future costs by improving the resilience of council services to withstand the future climate – hotter, drier summers and greater risk of flooding.

Low carbon and renewable energy activities generated £43.1 billion turnover in 2015, accounting for 1.3 per cent of total UK nonfinancial turnover. [Reference: UK environmental accounts: low carbon and renewable energy economy survey, final estimates: 2015, ONS April 2017]

LGA research showed that recent winter flooding caused damage to infrastructure such as bridges, road and drains in excess of £250 million. [Reference no longer available? https://www.local.gov.uk/about/news/press-release-winterflooding-nearly-ps250-million-damage-caused-roads-andbridges-new]



The economic cost to the Leeds City region from the December 2015 floods was estimated to be in excess of £0.5 billion. [Reference: Leeds City Region Flood Review Report, December 2016]

The Committee for Climate Change, an advisory body to Government, noted that while UK emissions fell 6 per cent in 2016 and are down 19 per cent since 2012, this progress has been dominated by the power sector. Carbon dioxide emissions from transport and buildings rose in 2015 and 2016. [Reference: 2017 Report to Parliament – Summary and recommendations, Committee for Climate Change]

Case study

Northamptonshire County Council's flood toolkit

The council produced a flood toolkit for local residents and businesses. It brings together relevant information in one location, including flood risk maps, step-by-step guides on what to do during different stages of flooding – from preparation to recovery, community resilience guides and education packs for primary schools.

Councils can play a significant role in realising the benefits and opportunities of climate action in their area. They are ideally placed to bring agendas together to ensure ‘win-win’ outcomes for the local community.

In this sense climate action is not a ‘new’ or ‘different’ agenda.

Coordinating action to retrofit homes, for example, can help address fuel poverty, create local jobs, cut carbon and make homes more resilient to the effects of severe weather.

Leadership

Councils have an important leadership role in creating low carbon and climate-resilient communities. Individual councillors also have an important leadership role. This role includes:

• offering vision and direction to local groups, and building support for that vision
• identifying and advocating opportunities to mainstream ownership and responsibility for climate action across the council
• participation in plan making and decisions on climate action
• representing local level concerns and perspectives to the council and other important local organisations
• encouraging and empowering residents and businesses to participate and act
• brokering agreements between different interests and partners, working across sectors to facilitate and encourage coordinated action.

What is climate leadership?

Climate leadership includes:

• demonstrating leadership within the council, developing a vision and mainstreaming ownership and responsibility
• communication and engagement, listening and engaging with the community
• establishing partnerships for action
• making things happen, for example, supporting local energy projects actively championing flood defence measures
• representing – advocating for change at national, regional and local levels, looking after the interests of the vulnerable
• empowering communities – providing support, funding, information and capacity
• transparency and accountability about goals, actions and progress against targets.

Councils have significant scope to influence emissions in residential buildings, surface transport and waste, which together account for 31 per cent of UK greenhouse gas emissions. [Reference: 2015 UK Greenhouse gas emissions: final figures – statistical summary, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy]

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?

Action to create low carbon and climate-resilient communities can yield significant opportunities for councils and their communities. Coordinated action can help the deliver on a range of local priorities, improving health outcomes, saving the council money, creating jobs, boosting the local economy, enhancing the natural environment and strengthening local transport systems.

It is up to individual councillor to have the vision, commitment and drive to help the local area realising these benefits and opportunities of climate action in their area.

Challenge 7

What three things will you do after completing this workbook to help your local community to seize climate action opportunities?

 

1.  
   
    
2. 
   
    
3.  

Further information

Climate Local is a local government initiative to drive, inspire and support council action on carbon reduction and climate resilience, and support networking between councils. It was launched in June 2012 and provides an opportunity for councils to sign up and make

a public commitment to tackle climate change.

Useful links

Carbon Trust

Tools, guidance and support for measuring and reducing carbon emissions

Energy Saving Trust

Information on energy saving, district heating, local housing and strategic energy planning

Climate Change Risk Assessment

National climate change risk assessment with links to regional summaries.

Cabinet Office

General advice, resources and toolkits for improving community resilience.

Local Climate Impacts Profile

An online tool to help local areas assess the impacts of current weather events, available from the Environment Agency’s Climate Ready support service.

The potential for energy efficiency

and renewable energy, Local Government Association

Flooding resources, Local Government Association



Transport resources, Local Government Association

A country in a jam: tackling congestion in our towns and cities, Local Government Association

View the other councillor workbooks, covering topics such as finance, handling casework, community leadership, and stress management.