The Key Cities network has published its Report and Framework on Net Zero: Levelling Up, Emissions Down. Metro Dynamics – supported by colleagues from Opergy – led the development of the Report, which reviews the progress which has been made towards Net Zero by Key Cities members. Recognising the complex landscape of Net Zero policies and funding streams, the Framework is designed to help cities accelerate action towards Net Zero by providing information on best practice examples, key priorities, fundings streams and tools, so as to help cities prioritise effectively. The Report and Framework will be valuable resources for the Key Cities members and help to support their important efforts to reach Net Zero – and is also relevant for other local authorities exploring the same issues.
The Key Cities is a non-partisan membership network of 27 cities, a group whose diversity and experience makes them an authoritative voice on life in urban Britain. Home to over 10% of the population of England and Wales the Key Cities members have a major role to play in the Net Zero transition.
We engaged with each of the member cities through an online survey, one-to-one conversations and a workshop. We also spoke to wider stakeholders including BEIS, DLUHC, 3Ci, the County Councils Network, the LGA and Salix to understand the wider policy environment. Through this research we found there has been a significant shift since local authorities began declaring climate emergencies in 2019. Each of the 27 members have Net Zero strategies in place or in development and many have set ambitious targets, three quarters of the 23 that responded to the survey aim to reach Net Zero ahead of the statutory deadline of 2050.
Speaking to climate officers across the country highlighted many examples of innovative policy which are helping to develop new approaches and reduce emissions. These included a range of renewable energy generation schemes, including some with models of community ownership. We heard about fleet electrification schemes, the creation of a hydrogen logistics ecosystem, decarbonising public buildings, retrofitting homes, flood risk mitigation, encouraging behaviour change through an app rewarding sustainable travel and the creation of green roofs, among many others.
While we saw many examples of successful projects the research highlighted significant challenges which places face as they work towards Net Zero. Broad issues identified include insufficient funding, the need to increase capacity and access to technical knowledge, a lack of clarity around local government’s role and a number of long-term implementation challenges. These challenges are shared by places all across the country and many were echoed in the Net Zero Review[1], published in January 2023 when our research was concluding. The Report makes a number of recommendations to central government to enhance the ability of local authorities to make progress towards Net Zero. The recommendations are organised under three main headings:
1. Greater clarity on the role of local government in achieving Net Zero and devolved funding with Net Zero powers.
2. Strengthening capacity and specialist skills within internal council teams.
3. Building a regulatory environment and investment ecosystem that supports the delivery of Net Zero projects.
The Report is accompanied by a Framework to support Key Cities to accelerate progress towards Net Zero. This is designed to be a practical resource for the members of the Key Cities to help them to navigate a complicated landscape. It is organised by theme, covering nine areas based in part on the Net Zero Strategy (2021)[2];
For the Framework we have drawn on the experiences of Key Cities members and places across the rest of the UK to outline examples of best practise in different policy areas. In each of the themes the Framework identifies tools, resources and financing/funding options and contains a set of recommendations for ways that local authorities can reduce their own emissions as organisations and the emissions from other actors in their territories.
As part of this research, we have also developed a data dashboard that presents baseline information on greenhouse gas emissions and other indicators related to household energy consumption, renewable energy generation, EV charging infrastructure, and fuel poverty. This is a tool to assist member cities tracking progress towards achieving Net Zero goals and it can be accessed here.
You can access the Report here.
You can access the Framework here.
For more information about this research and what Metro Dynamics is doing on Net Zero, please contact Kevin Fenning: kevin.fenning@metrodynamics.co.uk.