In the run up to COP26 the UK published its long-awaited Net Zero Strategy, the Heat and Buildings Strategy and the Government's response to the Climate Change Committee 2021 report. Couple that with the Budget and the Environment Bill and there has been plenty of opportunity to set out new policy and identify new funding.

In April, the UK Government set in law an ambitious target of cutting emissions by 78% by 2035. For the first time, the sixth Carbon Budget will incorporate the UK's share of international aviation and shipping emissions. However, there has not been much additional support aside from the welcome news of new money for the decarbonisation of public sector buildings, tree planting and heat pumps.

In trying to match policy with ambition, the UK is exercising caution with the public about the need for behaviour change, relying more on a switch to green power than on the need to consume less, with the Prime Minister prefacing the Net-Zero Strategy by saying ‘we can build back greener, without so much as a hair shirt in sight'.

Controversially, the Budget reduced taxes on some flights and failed to increase duties on fossil fuels for the 12th year in a row. Targets to remove gas boilers were scaled down to ambitions, and no significant new funding for decarbonisation of the wider building stock was announced.

There will be a lot for the local government sector to consider flowing from these documents and COP26. Local Partnerships has developed a range of free to use tools for the sector, such as the Greenhouse Gas Accounting Tool*. We will shortly launch a suite of new tools on climate change adaptation that will help local and combined authorities to understand and plan for an inevitably warmer, wetter and more unpredictable climate.

jo.wall@localpartnerships.gov.uk

07770 702 386

localpartnerships.org.uk

@LP_localgov

*View the Greenhouse Gas Accounting Tool at bit.ly/3pWlzoX