Climate Change and Economic Development

Societal change as a result of the coronavirus crisis could trigger the “largest ever annual fall in CO2 emissions in 2020” with global emissions cut by an amount equivalent to around 8% of total emissions in 2019 or 2,600m tonnes.

There are many alternative facts, stories and opinions available and everything depends upon perception but there is agreement that emissions have reduced and air quality has improved. Equally, economic output has fallen dramatically.

As with all things, balance is fundamental. The issues of climate change and economic development are regularly viewed as opposite sides of a coin – we can have one but only to the detriment of the other. This is an argument we need to get past by seeing the economic opportunities in working towards a sustainable future as well as how we can develop in tandem with nature.

The issue for local authorities is how to provide the outcomes they are looking to deliver. They will be looking to re-mobilise. As part of this and looking to further into the future, adequate weight must be given to the environmental and climatic implications of decisions alongside the economic and financial considerations.

This is much easier said than done of course. Local authorities are experts in service delivery and taking decisions on local development or infrastructure projects. There is a huge amount of experience in how to get those services right and project related technical expertise. Climate change is different – it is relatively new in terms of public awareness and although there are pockets of expertise within the average local authority, knowledge is concentrated in a few officers and councillors.

If councillors and senior managers are to effectively balance considerations of climate change and economic development they must be informed. This applies to both the daily routine activities they carry out and to large scale projects. They can rely on external expertise which will be appropriate in some circumstances but they must also educate themselves (APSE can help with both).

One way of retaining a core capacity within the local authority is internalising knowledge – that means formal training, dedicating time to learning and having an open mind when undertaking it.

COVID 19 has opened our eyes to a whole plethora of new problems and made us refocus on existing priorities – and councillors and officers need to learn more about them if we are to make the right decisions.

If you require support please contact Phil Brennan at [email protected] or on 07920 801014 or Charlotte Banks at [email protected] or on 0161 772 1810.