As part of our work for Innovate UK’s Net Zero Living Programme, Regen explored what places across the UK have learned about strengthening local net zero planning, building investable project pipelines and mobilising finance.
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As part of our work for Innovate UK’s Net Zero Living Programme, Regen explored what places across the UK have learned about strengthening local net zero planning, building investable project pipelines and mobilising finance.
Local authorities are at the heart of the transition to net zero. They are uniquely placed to build a vision with their communities and attract the public and private investment needed to realise it. Yet turning local ambitions into credible investment propositions remains a major challenge.
Drawing on the experiences of the dozens of councils and partners involved in the programme, Investing in Places sets out how local authorities can move more quickly from strategy to delivery – and how national decision makers and investors can better support place-based decarbonisation.
The UK’s net zero economy contributed more than £83 billion in 2023–24 and supported the equivalent of 951,000 full‑time jobs, fostering transformative economic opportunities across the UK.
Adopting a place-based approach to low-carbon investment could deliver twice the social and economic benefits for around a third of the cost of a uniform approach, according to research commissioned by Innovate UK.
Yet many local authorities face a critical funding gap. Public funds alone cannot cover all the investment needed, but many places are struggling to attract private investor interest.
The Net Zero Living Programme has shown that closer partnerships between the public, private and third sectors are critical to bridging this gap, realising the benefits of net zero for communities and businesses.
Effective planning is the foundation of successful project delivery and partnerships, yet it can be challenging due to the complexity of the interventions needed, seemingly disconnected priorities and a patchy evidence base.
One recurring obstacle raised by local authorities taking part in the Net Zero Living programme was a lack of clarity over roles. In response, Regen and Carbon Trust developed the Enable, Embed, Enact framework to help local authorities consider their anticipated delivery roles earlier in the process, helping to focus priorities and resources.
Southampton City Council was one of those to apply the framework to streamline data collection and stakeholder engagement. Our insight paper Best Laid Plans builds on this framework to explore how local authorities can make the most of the upcoming Regional Energy Strategic Plans.
Pipeline development is a crucial but often-overlooked step in delivering key strategic growth and climate priorities.
Through the Net Zero Living Programme, places took different paths to build stronger project pipelines, ready for investment. For example, Peterborough City Council developed a suite of tools to identify and combine low-carbon projects to form investable propositions, while Bristol City Council and neighbouring authorities worked with community development organisations to ensure local priorities inform a regional clean energy investment plan.
An innovative approach to help local authorities build more rigorous business cases for net zero projects has also been developed by programme partners City Science and Bankers without Boundaries.
Places found that working collaboratively with partners and exploring commercial options early significantly strengthens pipelines and builds confidence in innovative approaches.
Watch our webinar for more on how Bristol City Council and Surrey Council are developing their investment pipelines.
A key insight from the Net Zero Living Programme has been the realisation, by both local authorities and investors, of the need to better align their communications and requirements to drive faster progress and unlock finance. Infrastructure investors do not back bold ideas or novelty, they fund well-developed projects that fit their mandate.
The Net Zero Living Programme has helped councils such as Blaenau Gwent to build credible investment cases that demonstrate financial and technical feasibility.
Many others used the programme's grant funding as a catalyst to develop new financing mechanisms, showing what is possible. For example, Essex County Council tested a pay-as-you-go model for solar rooftop for residents, Oxford City Council matched businesses with corporate sustainability funds with local SMEs and charities needing to retrofit ageing buildings, and City of York Council worked with a local credit union to offer residents non-asset backed loans for home retrofit.
Looking ahead, regional blended finance models and whole-system finance approaches offer significant potential for scaling investment.
On our podcast, Regen’s Poppy Maltby is joined by Christine Zhou of Bankers Without Boundaries and Louise Wilson from Abundance Investment to hear their perspectives on how local authorities can better leverage private sector investment.
Investing in Places highlights how clarifying delivery roles to speed up planning and developing a credible pipeline of projects, underpinned by evidence, partnerships and robust business cases, has helped many places involved in the Net Zero Living Programme make major progress.
This programme has shown what's possible when innovative approaches are taken. Many authorities are now better placed to seek private investment, helping to unlock a lower carbon, healthier and more prosperous future for their communities.
You can find the full suite of papers, webinars and podcasts from the Net Zero Living Programme here and all Regen insights and publications of relevance to local authorities here. To sign up to our occasional newsletter for local authorities and their partners, please email Anna Cuckow.
We know that action at the local level is the cheapest and most effective way to deliver net zero. Collaboration is vital to enabling this and delivering a transition that works for the needs of local people. Regen helps local authorities translate the distinct needs of their people and places into strategies that bring jobs, investment and resilience alongside decarbonisation. Click here to explore our membership options.
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