Where to find out what councils across Cambridgeshire are doing to tackle climate change

The Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority has set tackling the impacts of climate change as one of its strategic ambitions in its Sustainable Growth Ambition Statement. As part of this, it is working to implement 58 recommendations from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Commission on Climate to decarbonise the economy and mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. You can read the Commission’s full report here.  

The Commission also looked at what reductions in emissions were needed over the next few years to meet carbon targets. That ‘pathway’ can be found here: PCAN Net Zero Roadmap March 2021-1.pdf (hubspotusercontent40.net) The Commission also looked at what reductions in emissions were needed over the next few years to meet carbon targets. That ‘pathway’ can be found here: PCAN Net Zero Roadmap March 2021-1.pdf (hubspotusercontent40.net)  

As a response to the recommendations, the Climate Working Group, chaired by the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Dr Nik Johnson, has developed a Climate Action Plan to set out strategic actions on climate issues for the Combined Authority to implement in collaboration with other organisations until 2025.   

The Combined Authority has committed to ensuring its own operations are net zero by 2030 and will support the region in meeting the national target of net zero emissions by 2050.  

The Combined Authority is an active member of the Greater South East Net Zero Hub, providing local capacity support to provide investment in local, low-carbon infrastructure projects. Part of the work facilitated by the hub is to supply grants for energy-saving improvements to the homes of people who struggle to pay their heating bill. For Cambridgeshire, the grant programme is being organised by the Cambridgeshire Energy Retrofit Partnership and for Peterborough, it is through Warmer Homes < Local Energy Advice Partnership – Peterborough City Council>  

The impact of climate change on water is a key issue for the area. Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, alongside Anglian Water, the Environment Agency and Water Resources East, is a funding partner of The Future Fens Integrated Adaptation (FFIA) project. The aim of the initiative is to make the Fens more resilient to the impacts of climate change, like flooding and drought. This will maintain much needed food security, support our communities, enhance the natural environment, and develop new water resources.  

The Combined Authority has reserved part of its budget this year to deliver a range of actions under its Climate Action Plan. Business cases are being developed and once agreed details will be added to this page.    

County council leader, Councillor Lucy Nethsingha, is leading the year-long Cambridgeshire COP which aims to bring together public sector partners, academia and countywide organisations in the race to net zero.

You can get involved in Cambridgeshire COP by contacting Ed Groome – edward.groome@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

The Council has also set new ambitious targets to tackle the climate and environment crisis that can be in Cambridgeshire County Council’s Climate Change and Environment Strategy here, setting a new ambition for Cambridgeshire to reach net zero emissions by 2045.

The aim of the strategy is to mobilise all parts of the council to prioritise cutting carbon emissions and building community resilience to climate impacts. We will also deliver an organisational target for the county council to reach Net Zero by 2030. For some of the actions being delivered for schools, villages and council buildings click here.

The latest Carbon Footprint for Cambridgeshire 2020/21 can be found here. This is the third annual report, and you can find the other reports here.

Cambridgeshire County Council, along with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and district council partners, has developed an Action Plan to respond to the Independent Commission for Climate Change final report. The action plan focusses on things that are bigger than any one organisation to deliver.

Cambridge City Council runs a Sustainable City Grant which is available every year to support voluntary and community groups to deliver activities in the city that will help achieve the objectives set out in the council’s Climate Change Strategy 2021-26. 

Find out more about what is happening in Cambridge around climate change and sustainability here www.cambridge.gov.uk/climate-change-and-sustainability, 

This includes information about the Cambridge Climate Change Charter: www.cambridge.gov.uk/climate-change-charter, Climate Change Strategy (www.cambridge.gov.uk/climate-change-strategy) and advice pages for residents and businesses on good practice related to energy and waste. 

Find out more about the work Huntingdonshire District Council is doing to develop its Climate Strategy: Climate Strategy – Huntingdonshire.gov.uk

South Cambridgeshire District Council declared a climate emergency in 2019. They are responding to the immediacy of these crises in changes to how they deliver services that benefit residents, businesses, and Parish Councils. Since 2018, being Green to our Core has been a top Business Plan Priority for the Council, delivered on through its approach to reducing emissions through mitigation, adaptation, and natural solutions across all areas of its influence.

Through the Action on Energy scheme, run in partnership with neighbouring councils, the Council helps provide grants to help households install energy efficiency improvements and low carbon heating.

The Council adopted its first Zero Carbon Strategy in May 2020. This sets out the need to halve net carbon emissions in the district by at least 2030 if not before, and the Council’s plans to support this. In February 2021 the Council created a ‘Doubling Nature’ strategy, sister document to the Zero Carbon Strategy, setting out an approach to increasing wildlife-rich habitats, tree canopy, and access to green spaces in South Cambridgeshire.

The Council runs a popular annual Zero Carbon Communities grant scheme. Since 2019, more than £400,000 has been allocated to 61 different grass roots projects including campaigns and awareness-raising around reducing carbon emissions, tree planting, energy efficient heating and lighting, food production and distribution, and waste reduction.

South Cambridgeshire District Council has also introduced a quarterly newsletter that aims to give further support and advice to residents who want to do their bit to tackle the climate emergency that we face. You can sign-up to receive the newsletter.

You can also find out more about what the Council is doing to tackle climate change in South Cambridgeshire.

East Cambridgeshire Council is in its third year of tackling climate change. You can find their third action plan, along with their top twenty committed actions for the year 2022-23 here.

This year they will be re- running the successful community orchard program again, establish new and replenishing older orchards in the district.

The council has also signed up to an environmental accreditation program called the Investors in the Environment in order to reduce their own carbon footprint. They hope to secure bronze by the end of this year and will be working towards silver accreditation with a minimum 2% decrease in all resources by the ends of 2023.  Find out more about the highly acclaimed IiE program here.

East Cambridgeshire now have 7 schools signed up to the ECO charter program and they still have funding for three more schools to join. Eco charter is a program designed to help schools reduce their carbon footprint and improve biodiversity on the school grounds. ECDC hopes to support all schools in the area to improve their green spaces and do their part to reduce district emissions. Find out more about ECO charter here.

Working with residents, and for the benefit of residents, is a priority for the council and through the East Cambridgeshire climate partnership forum they have been able to hear more local viewpoints and support more local action, including enabling EastCambsCan, a local environment group, to create a dedicated website designed to inform, educate and support residents in east Cambridgeshire through the climate crisis.

For more information about climate action at East Cambridgeshire district council follow this link ECDC Climate Action

Fenland District Council has committed to meeting all climate change targets which are legally required by the UK Government, following a Motion on the Council’s Climate Change and Carbon Reduction Policy. It has also committed to promoting measures which alleviate the anticipated effects in Fenland of future global climate change and to measure accumulatively the CO2 emission reductions achieved by the Council’s actions, both through the Council’s own activities and through the funding of schemes directed by or channelled via the Council to third parties in the district.

Through the Action on Energy scheme, run in partnership with neighbouring councils, the Council helps provide grants to help households install energy efficiency improvements and low carbon heating.

Together with its energy partner PECT, the Council also runs a free Warm Homes service which helps residents to reduce their household carbon footprint and save on energy costs.

Fenland District Council is also working alongside partners Clarion Housing and Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council to improve the energy efficiency of social homes across the district, with funding from the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.