UK’s local authority climate network celebrates membership boost
A ‘climate network’ of ambitious local authorities is celebrating reaching over 100 members with the new addition of numerous local councils.
The new UK100 members include Sunderland City Council (99th member), Derbyshire County Council (100th member), West Berkshire Council (101st member), and Sheffield City Council (102nd member).
UK100 is a network of the most ambitious local leaders working towards Net Zero as soon as possible, but no later than 2045. It is the only network for UK local authorities focused solely on climate change, clean air and Net Zero policy.
Every UK100 member signs a membership pledge, committing their council to ‘recognise their responsibility for tackling the climate emergency and take bold action towards Net Zero’.
It further commits local leaders to ‘lead the UK’s response to climate change, acting sooner than the government’s goal by making substantial progress within the next decade to deliver Net Zero’.
UK100’s newest members represent the political and geographical diversity of support for accelerating Net Zero progress at the local level.
The network brings together leaders of all political stripes, representing urban and rural councils of all shapes and sizes, from district councils to unitary authorities, from county councils to regional combined authorities.
Together, UK100 members represent over 37 million people across the UK.
On becoming UK100’s 100th member, Cllr Barry Lewis, Conservative leader of Derbyshire County Council, said: “We’re already working with our residents and businesses to drive down carbon emissions in Derbyshire and we welcome this opportunity to join this national network. By working together we can bolster our individual efforts through sharing good practice, research and thinking as we all urgently work towards the common goal of reaching Net Zero to help tackle climate change.”
Cllr Lynne Doherty, Conservative Leader of West Berkshire Council, UK100’s 101st member, said: “West Berkshire Council is pleased to be a member of this national network. We have been committed to making changes across West Berkshire which was further enhanced from our declaration of a climate emergency in 2019. Our Environment Strategy outlines the steps we intend to take with our partners. By working together, sharing ideas and leading by example, we can support each other to take strong climate action to reach carbon neutrality across the district.”
Cllr Graeme Miller, Labour and Co-operative Leader of Sunderland City Council, UK100’s 99th member, said: “We’re absolutely committed to doing our bit in Sunderland to take action on climate change, and to work with partners, businesses and our residents to support them to be more sustainable too. Committing to this pledge is a clear statement of intent that we intend to deliver against, working with our partners to achieve.”
Cllr Terry Fox, Leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “We are proud to support the UK100 Net Zero Pledge and strive to do everything we can to make Sheffield a cleaner, more sustainable city.
“We are resolute in our commitment to making Sheffield carbon neutral by 2030 and to delivering clean growth – economic growth that harnesses the opportunities of a more sustainable economy, whilst also tackling poor air quality and protecting our city’s wonderful green spaces and ecology.
“UK100 offers a fantastic opportunity to develop this action plan further, and to learn from other local authorities across the UK, to deliver our emissions target and unleash our clean growth economic potential.”
Polly Billington, Chief Executive of UK100, said: “We are delighted to welcome Derbyshire, Sunderland, West Berkshire and Sheffield to the family. It is inspiring to work with so many local authorities committed to reaching Net Zero as soon as possible.
“Reaching 100 members is a significant milestone. And one that couldn’t come at a more important time. With the war in Ukraine and an energy price crisis throwing into sharp relief the need for urgent action to bring down prices and secure our energy independence, Net Zero has never been more important, and achieving it in our communities, based in the places people live and work, is crucial.”
Image: courtesy UK 100
