CARBON CONUNDRUM

[...]Friends of the Earth says that despite political statements of intent, most local authorities are doing far too little on climate change. "The trick is to identify synergies between the global or national changes needed to reach net zero and the changes that can also improve our health and wellbeing, enhance biodiversity, create jobs, stabilise our economy and increase our resilience and ability to adapt to climate change," says Paul Allen, part of the Zero Carbon Britain project team at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales - a demonstration site for renewable energy and green technologies. Eckersley analysed two councils - in Newcastle upon Tyne and the German city of Gelsenkirchen - and how their ability to tackle climate change was influenced by the support they received from their central government. "Since Newcastle City Council doesn't have much influence over the UK government's attitude towards local authorities, it has adopted the only feasible strategy available -working more closely with other organisations in and around the city to fill the gaps. Free tools such as SCATTER - a collaboration between sustainability consultancy Anthesis, Nottingham City Council, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Manchester - help local authorities assess, report on and ultimately reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced in their area.