Revealed: The most climate-friendly areas
Wiltshire has topped the table of the most climate-friendly areas in England and Wales according to new research released by Friends of the Earth today (Thursday 3 October).
The green group assessed councils in different categories including renewable energy, public transport, lift-sharing, energy efficiency at home, waste recycling, and tree cover to find an overall winner.
Local authorities have an important and often over-looked role in cutting carbon emissions and solving the climate crisis, but most are doing far too little, and even the better performing ones can do much more. From eco-heating to e-bikes, from transport to tree planting, more can and should be done.
Full list of council performances
The new research enables people to look up how climate-friendly their local authority is, how their area compares to similar places, and what climate action is most needed.
Find out how climate-friendly your local area is.
Craig Bennett, Friends of the Earth chief executive, said:
“All local authorities, even the best performing, need to ramp up what they are doing. We know we are facing a climate and ecological emergency that threatens our existence and the natural world. If we want to change things for the better, let's start at home.
“Doing things right now about climate change isn’t just good news for future generations and people most vulnerable to an erratic climate, it’s good for everyone. Creating cleaner and greener places to live means healthier, happier lives. It’s why local authorities need to take the lead by adopting ambitious local climate action plans, and who better to help them than communities.”
Friends of the Earth are channelling concern around climate breakdown into tangible solutions by helping people form Climate Action Groups in their area. This research empowers groups to work with councils to adopt a local Climate Action Plan.
Local authorities can’t do it all themselves, they need more powers and finance alongside government action. But by communities coming together to improve their local area, they can put pressure on the government to place the climate emergency at the front of all decision making: change starts at home.
Notes:
- Friends of the Earth sourced data by local authority area on a range of issues relevant to climate change to assess how councils are performing: https://policy.friendsoftheearth.uk/download/league-table-local-authority-performance-climate-change
- The majority of data is from official government sources. To see the full methodology, go to: https://takeclimateaction.uk/climate-action/methodology-local-authority-data-project