Councils need mandate to produce net-zero plans

Councils should be given a legal duty to draw up net-zero strategies in order to prevent the issue being dealt with in a piecemeal way across the country, the Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) has urged.

In a new paper, the catapult outlines a series of recommendations to replace the current sporadic system of funding and planning local decarbonisation with a more systematic approach.

Among these recommendations are for net-zero strategies to become a statutory obligation in order to facilitate the development of smart local energy systems that integrate activities such as heat and transport at the grassroots level.

It says that developing a local net-zero strategy requires skills, resources, and long-term funding.

However, it is currently up to individual councils to determine the level of resourcing and funded for such activities, if they choose to pursue them at all.

Cash-strapped councils must balance budget and resources for decarbonisation with existing statutory requirements, such as adult social care.

The research found that the size of local authorities’ (LAs) climate change teams has fluctuated “significantly” over the past decade, with successful efforts often due to a “persistent” champion within the organisation.

It says: “This is not sustainable or scalable if LAs are to play a central role in delivering net zero. Responsibility and drive are required from leadership right down to those who are delivering the projects. Experience and capacity to deliver net zero is a significant gap that requires addressing.

“While some LAs have a lot of experience and institutional knowledge that allow these projects to progress, the majority have limited experience and are highly risk averse.”

Mandating councils to achieve net-zero targets will ensure they can prioritise budgets to work effectively with the private sector and take on long-term delivery of decarbonisation programmes.

In order to bolster investors’ confidence, councils must provide competent teams able to deliver projects themselves or effectively engage with the private sector to do so, particularly when dealing with innovative schemes.

The government should also draw up a consistent Net Zero Planning Framework for councils that would provide investors with a “visible and credible” pipeline of projects, recommends the report.

And systematic public funding should be leveraged, with the help of the UK Infrastructure Bank, to attract private sector investment.

Philip New, chief executive of the ESC, said: “Local authorities have a pivotal role to play in the net zero transition, leveraging public funding to attract the private finance needed to deliver the clean technologies and infrastructure required by local communities.

“It’s true that a small number of local authorities are ahead in delivering on their climate emergency targets and energy strategies. However, the majority are not.

“To ensure all local authorities benefit, the argument is growing for the formulation and delivery of local decarbonisation strategies to be made a statutory obligation. Without this, stretched local authorities will not have the resources needed to prioritise and deliver local transition to net zero.”