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Climate change is emerging as one of the major challenges facing the world in the 21st century, and local government has a pivotal role to play in combating greenhouse gas emissions. Meeting this challenge is a key priority for Richmond upon Thames LBC, and earlier this year, we adopted a strategy which set out a range of measures to address its causes and impacts in the borough. Our approach is to implement a series of projects, some of which have a self-evident effect on reducing the council's own carbon footprint, and others which act more as psychological drivers of behavioural change. An example of the latter involves the installation of renewable technologies, such as the 42 solar panels recently erected on the roof of the civic centre. The panels will save more than three tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. And while its contribution to reducing our carbon footprint may be small and the payback period relatively long, we believe there are many good reasons for supporting renewable technologies. The most important of these is to show community leadership, lead by example, and remind people of the environmental costs of energy use, in order to stimulate action on climate change. The new Local Government Performance Framework introduces 14 indicators under the heading of environmental sustainability, including NI186, which measures the per capita reduction in CO2 emissions in the local authority area. This recognises that change occurs at the local level, where people make decisions and modify their behaviour. And local authorities are vital facilitators of this. Domestic energy use is one of the major contributors to climate change. However, while an increasing number of residents express concern about the potential impact of climate change, many fail to make a concrete link between switching on an appliance and the carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere. If local authorities are to succeed in promoting community action, the need to make this link must be addressed. Residents must not only be concerned about climate change, they must also be empowered to make changes in their own domestic situations. In the UK, there is a large separation between the places where energy is generated, such as power stations, and where it is consumed, ie, homes and businesses. While people are glad not to have to live next door to a power station, one side-effect of this is that it is easier for people to ignore the relationship between energy use and its environmental costs. The fact that renewable technologies, such as solar panels, can be located close to where energy is used, means both the physical and psychological distance between the places of energy production and consumption is minimised. Renewable technologies are more visible on a daily basis and, therefore, serve as a powerful reminder of the link between energy use and climate change. Although their proximity to the places where people live and work often invites criticism, these attributes can also be embraced. Just as children in our large cities are being taught about where the food they eat actually comes from, so we all need reminding that our electricity comes from the Earth, and not out of a socket. At Richmond, we recognise that, as a local authority, we have an important role to play in tackling climate change – both in terms of reducing our own emissions and in encouraging others to take action. Renewable technologies, by generating clean energy and providing a constant reminder of the link to climate change, have the ability to help us achieve both goals, thus yielding a double dividend. It is our hope that other councils will adopt similar strategies, and promote the development of renewable energy projects on their own estate, and across their communities. Michael Doust manages the sustainability unit at Richmond upon Thames LBC

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CLIMATE CHANGE

Richmond's shining example will raise the roof

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