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Without deliberate action, net zero risks widening existing inequalities – excluding low-income families from new technologies, concentrating costs on those least able to afford them, and overlooking communities who have already borne the brunt of deindustrialisation and the cost-of-living crisis. With the right approach, however, it can improve lives through warmer homes, lower bills, cleaner air, better jobs and stronger local economies.
Local authorities have a critical role to play in enabling the just transition. They understand the needs of their communities and hold statutory powers over planning, housing, transport, environmental protection and public health. However, it is not always clear what this action can or should look like.
Our new guide, A Force for Fairness, sets out how those existing local authority functions can be leveraged to ensure that net zero action can support a just transition. Delivered for Innovate UK’s Net Zero Living Programme, it moves beyond theory to provide a practical framework for action, grounded in case studies from across the UK.
