£1m fund for local climate projects to open next month

£1m fund for local climate projects to open next month

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Environment and Sustainable Communities Committee has welcomed that an open bid of £1m for schemes to protect against or ease the effects of climate change will open on 25th November with funding to be awarded by March 2025.

Following a bidding round, the funding will be awarded to public sector and community organisations, including parish councils and not for profits, for initiatives that will achieve environmental ‘wins’ including water and carbon savings and nature and biodiversity improvements.

Typical projects to receive funding could include:

• Installing solar panels on buildings such as village halls
• Setting up repair cafes
• Establishing community ground source heat pumps

Successful bids will be innovative, delivering on the priorities of the Climate Action Plan across individual communities by significantly cutting carbon emissions and offering other tangible benefits to the environment.

This is the latest tranche of funding to be released to deliver the Climate Action Plan.  Already this year, over £1 million of investment has been awarded to help fund a range of climate friendly initiatives, including local biodiversity improvement projects, assessments on the impact of climate to Fenland soil, help for schools to move away from using fossil fuels for heating and the creation of a Local Energy Area plan, to help attract investment for new energy infrastructure in Cambridgeshire.

The mission of the Climate Action Plan is to ensure coherent, system-wide action on tackling the causes and effects of climate change through collective local leadership.

Dr Nik Johnson, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough said: 

“I am pleased to announce a new raft of funding for local climate projects that enhance and protect our natural environment, we know that these improvements make a huge difference across our region.

“We will continue to put nature at the heart of our community and ambitions for economic growth, paving the way for a greener and more resilient Cambridgeshire and Peterborough”

More information on how to apply for funding will appear on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority website soon.