A fortnight ago, SSN’s Research and Engagement Officer, Sarah Bryant attended the Place-based Climate Action Network (PCAN) Conference. Here are her takeaways from the event.
The PCAN Conference took place at the Royal Society in London on the 19th of June 2023. This brought together a wide range of stakeholders from public, private and third sectors such as UK climate commissions, local authorities, think tanks and universities. Here, attendees discussed topics such as the importance of a place-based approach, how to accelerate this and building effective climate governance. The jam-packed conference featured a welcome address from British journalist and former science editor of BBC, David Shukman, keynote speeches from MP Chris Skidmore and Co-Director of PCAN, Dr. Candice Howarth as well as panel discussions and breakout sessions.
Some of the key takeaways emerging from MP Chris Skidmore’s keynote speech on the importance of place in delivery of UK climate action:
- Local climate action is the most effective way of delivering net zero on time and within budget
- The UK Government is behind the curve on reaching net zero by 2050
- Key barriers to net zero include a lack of funding and the competitiveness in securing funding. Instead, funding must a) increase b) break out of the funding review cycle c) be released in good time for staff to apply and d) be long-lasting regardless of the government in power.
- There needs to be improvements in reporting and transparency of climate data from local authorities in the UK so as to build collaborative networks. This shines light on the exemplar work that SSN is doing in Scotland.
- More action needs to be taken to ramp up adaptation efforts as the effects of climate change are being felt as we speak
- In climate discussions, there is a divide in narrative between local and national. Local climate narratives tends to focus on nature, biodiversity and livelihoods, while national climate narratives tend to focus on emissions, policies and targets.
Dr. Candice Howarth’s keynote speech on accelerating place-based climate action highlighted the following:
- There is significant power in local climate partnerships but more needs to be done
- New forms of climate governance such as local climate commissions play an important role in supporting effective, inclusive and fair place-based climate action
- Challenges to deliver net zero locally include political stability, skills, knowledge and capacity, programme continuity, understanding the readiness or emerging technology, ability to design models for climate projects, culture and conflicting priorities and pressures
- Recommendations from the recently published PCAN report state that local authorities should adopt a partnership-based approach and broaden the scope of climate action beyond emissions to include nature and biodiversity. Simultaneously, national and devolved governments should put in place a coherent framework to support local climate adaptation and mitigation.
The first panel discussion entitled ‘Perspectives and Taking Stock of Local Climate Action’ was chaired by Dr. Matt Lane (University College London). Here, registrants had the opportunity to hear from Jill Montgomery (Rural Resilience Coordinator from the Northern Ireland Environmental Link), Professor Rebecca Willis (Professor in Energy and Climate Governance at Lancaster University and Project Lead of Climate Citizens) as well as Andrew Richmond (Policy Adviser on Climate Change and Growth at the Local Government Association).
- Jill Montgomery offered the perspective of farmers and agricultural sector bodies. She noted that farmers are often depicted as the villains of climate change, however, this needs to change as they are a vital piece of the puzzle. They need support facing climate change impacts, which have made it increasingly challenging for them to plan ahead.
- Professor Rebecca Willis offered the perspective of citizens. She highlighted how there needs to be more people-centred climate policy and also called on the development of ‘locally determined contributions’ which act like Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) but on a local scale.
- Andrew Richmond offered the perspective of local government. He emphasised that local action is required in all 51 UK cities, 935 towns and 6,000 villages and that the Local Government Association has set out 10 key missions for local climate action.
The second panel discussion entitled ‘Building Effective Models for Place-based Climate Governance: Lessons from Local Climate Commissions’ was chaired by Hannah Thomas-Peter (Sky News). This session brought together Andrew Wood (Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission), Dr. Erica Russell (Surrey Climate Commission), Dr. Andrew Kythreotis (Lincoln Climate Commission) and Jamie Brogan (Edinburgh Climate Commission) who all shared their experiences of local climate action through Climate Commissions.
Most notably, the conference began to come to a close with speeches from Lord Deben (Climate Change Committee) and Professor John Barry (Queen's University Belfast).
- Professor John Barry (Queen’s University Belfast) declared with brutal but necessary honesty that it is clear that the UK will fail to meet its target of limiting greenhouse gas emissions to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial times. He explained that this will lead to significant impacts and that, already, Europe is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. Professor Barry raised a thought provoking notion that despite the fact that we are facing climate and biodiversity crises, there is no stark suggestion of this from the government in our day-to-day lives. He compares this to the Covid-19 pandemic, which abruptly put people’s lives on hold and remained a glaringly constant theme from the UK Government. Despite the fact that 1.5 degrees Celsius is far gone, Professor Barry called for attendees to have hope not optimism. For optimism suggests passivity and hope holds out the possibility of failure.
- Lord Deben (Climate Change Committee) underscored the importance of a justice-based approach to climate change, ensuring that we avoid ‘green’ neo-colonialism while attempting to decarbonise the Global North. He even goes as far as suggesting a ‘Rights for Nature’ approach, which is a legal instrument that enables nature i.e. ecosystems or species, to have inherent rights to exist, thrive and regenerate.