The 30th annual climate summit (COP30) is underway in Belém, Brazil. It may feel distant from the daily realities of local government in the UK, but the tools to tackle the climate crisis are here in our communities, towns and cities: public provision is the foundation for climate action.
As we reflect on three decades of COP meetings, one truth is hard to ignore: global carbon emissions continue to rise. Thirty summits on, that trajectory has not changed. We know this is an inequality issue, as: recent research from Oxfam showed that each of the UK's richest 0.1% people emits more carbon in eight days than someone in the bottom 50% does in an entire year. Yet, ordinary people are paying the price for this runaway consumption the world over. We see it in the devastation wrought by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica. And in the rising cost of essentials here in the UK, as energy bills soar due to our dependence on oil and gas, and food prices are driven up by failed harvests.
The transition, then, is not just a transition from one fuel type to another. It is a transition from one economic model to another. A more decentralised economy designed to better meet local needs rather than drive excess profiteering and more conspicuous consumption.
This year, for the first time, more energy was generated from renewables than from coal globally in the first six months of 2025. That is surely progress to be celebrated: it is testament to global collaboration, investment in the transition and technological innovation. Most of the rise of renewables, however, is meeting growth in demand for energy, rather than replacing fossil fuels. Whatever the promise of renewables, we will not stop runaway climate change without curbing our energy demand. For now, that demand continues to grow.
The transition, then, is not just a transition from one fuel type to another. It is a transition from one economic model to another. A more decentralised economy designed to better meet local needs rather than drive excess profiteering and more conspicuous consumption. A local economy which delivers returns to communities not faceless corporations with no interest or loyalty to place. It demands a new way of living together, built on shared infrastructure and fantastic public services that both reduces the demand for energy and makes people's lives better, like efficient public transport, community housing, shared spaces, libraries, and local food systems. As we escape the societal costs of supermarket dominance, car dependency and isolated living, we reduce duplication and energy demand and regain ownership and connection in our places. And so, our public sector has a crucial role to play, because a low-carbon future can only be built through public provision, not individual consumption.
What this shared infrastructure looks like is for places to decide for themselves. The COP Local Leaders Forum insists on the need for active partnership between national governments and local leaders to deliver the transition. The UK's latest plan for reducing emissions to achieve its 2035 targets underscores a commitment to supporting devolved and local governments and strategic authorities to drive climate action. One of the most effective ways that they can do this is by ensuring that local places are able to deliver exceptional public services and shared infrastructure and to design these in response to local needs. So, as global leaders gather this week, their discussions must resonate in our communities. They must ask: how can we empower local leaders to build the services their communities need?
Strong local leadership will ensure that this transition is democratic, that community voices are heard and shape decisions and outcomes. Local leaders must be empowered to use the levers they have to put their communities in the driving seat: through approaches like community wealth building to drive more community ownership and cooperation in the local economy, through inclusive planning, transparent decision-making, and active representation of local priorities on the national stage. When communities are excluded, the risks are profound. We have seen this in the opposition to wind developments in the Highlands, where local people see that they are fuelling increased energy consumption, while their own interests are overlooked. Benefits must not flow out of communities while they shoulder the costs. No one living beside a wind farm should be trapped in fuel poverty. The transition only works if it builds a just economy – one that shares power, wealth, and opportunity fairly.
Global promises must translate to local delivery. The climate transition will be won or lost locally – it's in our towns, cities and communities where the shift to a sustainable future will truly take shape. It is in everyday decisions about transport, housing, energy and food. Investment in our public services for more universal provision and rewiring our local economies to tackle wealth extraction are key climate issues. Now is the opportunity for local leaders to speak about them in these terms, framing public provision as central to tackling climate change.
Evelyn Henderson-Child is a senior researcher, and John Heneghan is an associate director at the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES).
