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Supporting community action on climate change

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How can I work with local authorities?

How to make the most of working with local authorities to support community climate action. This section focuses mainly on parish and district councils in South Cambridgeshire although much will be transferable to other locations. 

This page includes:

  • The Local Context: A 10-minute recording from Anna Williams discussing the local authority context of community climate action,
  • Working with South Cambridgeshire District Council: A 13-minute recording from Orla Gibbons from South Cambridgeshire District Council discussing how the council can support community climate action in the district,
  • Working with District Councillors: An 11-minute recording of tips from District Councillor Paul Bearpark,
  • Working with Parish Councillors: An 11-minute recording of tips from Parish Councillor James Hobro,
  • Slides: The slides from each recording to help work through this topic,
  • Further resources: A list of further resources including articles, guides, websites, blogs or video clips help build knowledge of the topic. Note these resources are external pages not moderated or managed by Cambridge Carbon Footprint.
Back to the Net Zero Now Resource Hub

The Local Context

Working with South Cambs District Council

Working with District Councillors

Working with Parish Councils

Slides

Slides: Local Context

Slides: South Cambs District Council

Slides: Parish Council

Further Resources

Cambridge City Council’s Climate Change Strategy 2021-2026

Cambridge Resilience Web
An interactive mind map of local groups working on different issues within Cambridge.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Climate Action Coalition
A campaigning group of relevant environmental groups within the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Their purpose is to monitor the activities of the Combined Authority to ensure that its actions, either planned or actual, are consistent with the Climate and Ecological Emergency.

Cambridgeshire Climate Emergency
A network of local groups and individuals seeking better collaboration on community climate action.

Cambridgeshire’s Active Travel Strategy
Provides a comprehensive set of policies that will enable quality provision of active travel infrastructure and initiatives in Cambridgeshire to contribute to the County Council’s target to achieve net zero carbon by 2045.

CamCycle Zero Carbon Streets
A campaign to help Cambridgeshire communities work together for better active travel routes and to play our part in reducing carbon emissions.

Fairness, nature and communities: addressing climate change in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
Recommendations from the Independent Commission on Climate Change to provide authoritative recommendations on the options available to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to decarbonise the economy, mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Local Transport and Connectivity Plan
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s long-term strategy to make transport in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough better faster, greener, and more accessible for everyone.

Net Zero Cambridgeshire 2045
Cambridgeshire County Council’s Climate and Environment Strategy 2022

Parish Online
Parish Online is a tool for simply viewing and printing maps, all the way to storing asset registers, producing neighbourhood plans and engaging with the public.

South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Zero Carbon Strategy

Back to the Net Zero Now Resource Hub

How can I work with local authorities?

In this section you will learn

  • about the local context of Cambridgeshire and the breakdown of which local authorities are responsible for what.

What's happening locally: an overview

Working with South Cambs District Council

Working with District Councillors: A Case Study

Working with Parish Councils: A Case Study

Resources

Fairness, nature and communities: addressing climate change in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
Recommendations from the Independent Commission on Climate Change to provide authoritative recommendations on the options available to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to decarbonise the economy, mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Local Transport and Connectivity Plan
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s long-term strategy to make transport in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough better faster, greener, and more accessible for everyone.

Net Zero Cambridgeshire 2045
Cambridgeshire County Council’s Climate and Environment Strategy 2022

Cambridgeshire’s Active Travel Strategy
Provides a comprehensive set of policies that will enable quality provision of active travel infrastructure and initiatives in Cambridgeshire to contribute to the County Council’s target to achieve net zero carbon by 2045.

Cambridge City Council’s Climate Change Strategy 2021-2026

South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Zero Carbon Strategy

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Climate Action Coalition
A campaigning group of relevant environmental groups within the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Their purpose is to monitor the activities of the Combined Authority to ensure that its actions, either planned or actual, are consistent with the Climate and Ecological Emergency.

Cambridge Resilience Web
An interactive mind map of local groups working on different issues within Cambridge.

Cambridgeshire Climate Emergency
A network of local groups and individuals seeking better collaboration on community climate action.

CamCycle Zero Carbon Streets
A campaign to help Cambridgeshire communities work together for better active travel routes and to play our part in reducing carbon emissions.

[TBC]

Essential reading

Theme Title Type Time Details
Net Zero Now Net Zero Now Webpage 0:05:00 What is Net Zero Now and what can you expect over the next couple of months.
Net Zero Now Course outline Document 0:10:00 Find out more details of Net Zero Now and what we will cover in the different sessions.
Carbon Footprints Cambridge Climate Change Charter Calculator 0:15:00 Calculate your carbon footprint and find out about potential actions to reduce your personal emissions.
Carbon Footprints Climate Basics: Your carbon footprint explained Video clip 0:03:00 A short explanation of how carbon footprints are calculated.
Political Landscape The Climate Emergency in Cambridge Article 0:10:00 Find out more about the climate emergency declared by Cambridge City Council and what the local authority is doing.
Political Landscape 12 Important Moments in the History of Climate Action: In Photos Article 0:10:00 A conscise overview of the history of the climate change movement.
Course tool Quick introduction to Slack Document 0:03:00 A brief introduction to the Slack tool we will be using as part of this programme
 

Further reading

Theme Title Type Time Details
Carbon Footprints Learn Articles 0:15:00 More background information on carbon footprints and climate change.
Carbon Footprints Act Articles 0:15:00 More detailed information on the actions that you can take to reduce your carbon footprint.
Carbon Footprints Carbon Footprint: Exploring the UK's contribution to climate change Report 1:00:00 An examination of the UK's carbon footprint, and how it has changed between1990 and 2016.
Climate Change Plastic pollution: how humans are turning the world to plastic Video clip 0:10:00 Why plastic turned into a problem and what do we know about its dangers.
Climate Change We asked scientists to help answer your most pressing climate questions Article 0:10:00 Expert answers in simple english to a range of climate questions.
Climate Change Met Office Climate Glossary Glossary 0:05:00 A glossary of climate related terms.
Climate Change Explainer: how to read an IPCC report Article 0:05:00 An explainer on what an IPCC report is and how to understand it.
Climate Change Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report 1:00:00 The IPCC's reports on climate change. Dense, highly technical text for those wanting to delve very deeply into climate change research.
Climate Change Costing the Earth Podcast 0:30:00 BBC Radio programme exploring a range of environmental problems and solutions.
Climate Change Net Zero – The UK’s contribution to stopping global warming Report 1:00:00 The Committee on Climate Change's report on how the UK can get to Net Zero.
Political Landscape United Nations SDGs Webpage 0:05:00 An overview of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals with links to further information and publications.
Political Landscape Who is responsible for climate change? Video clip 0:10:00 Looks at which countries emit the most CO2 now and historically and explores who can and should take the lead in reducing emissions.
Political Landscape What is the Paris Agreement Article and Video 0:10:00 An explainer on what the Paris Climate Agreement is and why it's important.
Political Landscape Glossary of Climate Change Acronyms and Terms, UNFCCC Glossary 0:05:00 A glossary of climate related terms courtesy of the United Nations Framework Convenetion on Climate Change.
Political Landscape Key Milestones in the Evolution of International Climate Policy Timeline 0:10:00 An interactive timeline of key milestones and achievements in international climate policy.

Slides

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