The Government has charged local authorities with the mission of delivering carbon neutrality by 2050. Councils recognise this as our next emergency which, unlike COVID- 19, we are well aware is coming. Our youth declared the importance of this mission with the largest world protest on climate change last year. Over 300 local authorities signed up to the Climate Change Charter, to achieve carbon neutrality within their own services by or before 2030. Time was tight enough, without a global pandemic.
In a recent webinar by Future of London, the scale of this problem was well articulated even before the pandemic. London authorities seemed well positioned to deliver real change but felt the government targets for 2025 and beyond were already in jeopardy. In core cities like Birmingham and Nottingham, authorities were urgently seeking support from government to use climate change initiatives as a way of creating city growth and tackling the huge wealth gap between London and the rest of the country.
Generally, public sector emissions are already small (between 3-5%), compared with the wider commercial and industrial contributions. Nevertheless, reducing these to neutrality will require billions. Whilst COVID-19 is forcing us into new ways of working and business models will need to be recast, local authorities can seize this opportunity to also push for environmental sustainability. When adopting smart city concepts in our major towns and cities we will need greater solutions than just the 'experience factor'. These spaces need to become holistic, self-sustaining living environments, unique to their local area and embracing their local businesses.
Our youth, who are not our usual age demographic when it comes to consultee responses, can lead the way with this ambition. At this time they have shown that the power of their voice and magnitude of their activism can spark real change. In the same way the UK led the industrial revolution, we can now be at the forefront of the green revolution; our new 'USP' in the global economy being the commitment we will make to our future generations.
Over many weeks of lockdown, nations have experienced a huge reduction in our collective carbon footprint but with an inevitable devastating impact on our economy. The world has recast its way of life; the pandemic has led to us questioning the need for journeys, the approach to meetings and whether all staff need an office environment every day. It has increased our ability to walk, cycle and use the outdoors sensibly, find alternative ways to socialise, and to digitally connect with people.
It has tested the true nature of localism with community groups delivering effective local services and we have embraced a far more collaborative way of working across sector boundaries, with services being delivered more efficiently than before in some cases. Donna Nolan, Managing Director at Watford Borough Council, recently stated that the team dynamic for their local authority is Survive, Revive and Thrive, praising the work of councils during the pandemic through the trust given to staff at all levels to deliver the right response. To ‘Revive and Thrive’, local authorities need to embrace the good practices which have come from their own experiences of lockdown, rather than return to a pre-pandemic norm. Trust has been at the forefront of this shift and trust needs to spearhead the culture change needed for future delivery options from central to local delivery.
With a nation needing to rebuild a broken economy and a world demanding sustainability, what better impetus than to build a recovery through new local jobs, new technologies, sustainable working methods and more time for leisure and enjoying our lives. With the recent call to Government by more than 200 firms in the UK who have pledged their commitment to a greener recovery plan for the UK, local authorities should now seize the opportunity to revive their practices and build a new sustainable local economy through retrofits, new smart city concepts, renewable energy sources, local plans supporting green infrastructure, less or greener vehicle movements and more air and exercise to improve our health.
These initiatives which make immediate changes to our general wellbeing is surely worth making the switch, providing time for leisure with a leisure industry desperate to fill the current void. Why not embrace the work needed to deliver sustainable change towards carbon neutrality and use the climate change agenda to rebuild a sustainable nation for generations to come. Whilst the enormity of the task cannot be underestimated, to meet these very demanding targets, radical change in key areas of business delivery is required and our current pandemic crisis can be the catalyst to recast that delivery with climate friendly solutions at the forefront of our thinking.
Karen Whelan is the former chief executive of Surrey Heath BC