Council Climate Emergency Action Plans
CEL is working to ensure local residents and community energy groups engage with London council climate emergency action plans as and when they are released for consultation. We will keep information updated on our website and see Climate Emergency UK for latest news on London Boroughs. We encourage community energy groups and supporters to engage with these council climate emergency action plans to highlight the need to include community energy. We also recommend attending council-organised events to mention and highlight the need to include community energy support as part of any climate action plans. If you would like support feeding in to your council’s climate emergency plan please email us. For other ideas please see the bottom of the page.
CEL’s report Community Energy in a Climate Emergency (July 2021) can be accessed here. It examines actions undertaken that support community-related activities across a range of activities but particularly those supporting community energy after reviewing all climate plans published by London boroughs.
A growing number of London Boroughs have their own Community Funds using the Carbon Offset Funds. Some funds are specifically for community energy projects whilst others are for wider climate action activities as well. At the moment the boroughs of Lewisham, Camden, Islington and Haringey have such funds. Haringey’s fund is currently open and the application deadline is 7th January 2022. The Mayor of London has a similar fund – the London Community Energy Fund (LCEF) and the fifth round has just closed. The GLA will announce the successful bids in early 2022.
Any councils with open consultations will be added to this page. If we’ve missed one please email us and we’ll add it – thank you.
Source: London Councils [Accessed November 2021]
Source: London Councils [Accessed November 2021]
London Councils’ Climate Emergency Declarations and Strategies
|
London Council |
Date of Declaration |
Climate Target |
Date of Publication |
Published Strategy in Response to Declaring a Climate Emergency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Barking and Dagenham |
January 2020 |
Carbon Neutral 2030 | January 2021 | |
|
Barnet |
Have not declared | Net Zero 2030 (Council)
Net Zero 2050 (Borough) |
Framework: December 2021 | Currently developing a Sustainability Strategy, expected early 2022. More information is here & here. Sustainability Strategy Framework here. |
| Bexley | Have not declared | Last strategy was in 2011 | ||
| Brent | July 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2030 | November 2020 | |
| Bromley | July 2019 | Net Zero 2029 | January 2020
November 2020 |
|
| Camden | July 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2030 | June 2020 | Camden Climate Action Plan 2020-2025 |
| City Of London | Have not declared | Net Zero Emissions (operations) 2027
Net Zero (investments and supply chain) 2040 Support Net Zero for the Square Mile 2040 |
June 2020 | |
| Croydon | July 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2030 | February 2022
March 2021 |
Croydon Carbon Neutral Action Plan |
| Ealing | April 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2030 | January 2021 | Climate And Ecological Emergency Strategy 2021-2030 |
| Enfield | July 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2030 (Council)
Carbon Neutral 2040 (Borough) |
July 2020 | Enfield Climate Action Plan 2020 |
| Greenwich | June 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2030 | November 2020 | Carbon Neutral Plan 2021-2030 (Draft – final version to be adopted soon) |
| Hackney | February 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2040 | June 2021 | Rebuilding A Greener Hackney, Our Roadmap To Net Zero |
| Hammersmith & Fulham | July 2019 | Net Zero 2030 | 2021 | H&F 2030: Climate & Ecology Strategy |
| Haringey | March 2019 | Net Zero Carbon (Council) 2027
Net Zero Carbon (Borough) 2041 |
March 2021 | A Route Map for a Net Zero Carbon Haringey |
|
Harrow |
July 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2030 | March 2020 | The Climate & Ecological Emergency – Interim Strategy & Action Plan |
|
Havering |
Have not declared | Carbon Neutral 2040 | November 2021 | Havering Climate Change Action Plan |
| Hillingdon | January 2020 | Carbon Neutral 2030 (Services)
Carbon Neutral 2050 (Borough) |
July 2021 | Strategic Climate Action Plan |
| Hounslow | June 2019 | Net Zero 2030 | July 2020 | Climate Emergency Action Plan |
| Islington | June 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2030 | November 2020 | Vision 2030: Creating a Net Zero Carbon Islington by 2030 |
| Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea | January 2020 | Net Zero Carbon (Council) 2030
Carbon Neutral (Borough) 2040 |
Expected 2021 | |
| Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames | June 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2038 | Climate Emergency Draft Action Plan
Draft Kingston Climate Action Plan – actions Final version expected Feb 2022 |
|
| Lambeth | January 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2030 |
Corporate Carbon Reduction Plan: Becoming a Carbon Neutral Council by 2030 Climate Action Plan to be finalised by end of 2021 |
|
| Lewisham | February 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2030 | March 2o20 | |
| Merton | November 2020 | Carbon Neutral 2030 (Council)
Carbon Neutral 2050 (Borough) |
November 2020 | |
| Newham | April 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2030 & Zero Carbon 2050 | July 2020 | Climate Emergency Action Plan |
| Redbridge | June 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2030
Carbon Zero 2050 |
June 2021
November 2020 |
Climate Change Action Plan |
| Richmond Upon Thames | July 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2030 | January 2020
March 2021
|
|
| Southwark | March 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2050 | July 2021 | Tackling the Climate Emergency Together Our strategy for a carbon neutral Southwark by 2030 |
| Sutton | July 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2030 | March 2020 | Sutton’s Environment Strategy 2019–2025 & Climate Emergency Response Plan |
| Tower Hamlets | March 2019 | Net Zero Carbon 2025 (Council)
Net Zero Carbon 2050 (Borough) |
March 2020 | Net Zero Carbon Plan |
| Waltham Forest | April 2019 | Net Zero 2030 | December 2020
|
The Waltham Forest Climate Emergency Commission: A Call To Action
Climate Action Plan expected 2021 |
| Wandsworth | July 2019 | Carbon Neutral 2030 & Zero Carbon 2050 (Council) | January 2020
February 2021 |
|
| Westminster | September 2019 | Net Zero Council 2030
Zero Carbon City 2040 |
Autumn 2021 | Westminster Climate Emergency Action Plan |
Council climate emergency action plans open for consultation
Community Energy – Engaging with your local council
Residents and community groups can work with their local authority to ensure community energy projects are supported:
- Write to your councillors or find relevant council officers to contact and ask what they are doing with regards to community energy
- Liaise with existing community groups to draft a collective response to consultations
- Have specific asks: this could be budget, a room to convene in for meetings, or acouncil officer to support you
- Consider drafting text that you want to see within the action plan
- Showcase successful examples from other local authorities
- Seek out your borough’s climate change Citizen’s Assembly if they have one
- Ask your local authority to lobby the GLA or BEIS for funding to support small-scale community energy projects
- Get in touch with London’s main electricity network distribution company, UK PowerNetworks, to see which projects are feasible for the area.
- Apply for local authority led/supported awards and showcase your positive work
- Attempt contact with different departments within our local authority – not just the energy/environmental department (e.g. if you work with schools, the education department)
- Invite your MP to attend your events, or offer them your services
- Follow your MP and local councillors on Twitter, and engage with them frequently