In the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, ‘Climate Change 2021: the physical science basis’, published last week, scientists reported observing changes in the Earth’s climate ‘in every region and across the whole climate system’. Many of these changes are unprecedented in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years, and some of the changes, such as continued sea level rise, are irreversible over hundreds to thousands of years, the report states.
However, the IPCC report also suggests global temperatures could stabilise in 20-30 years with strong and sustained reductions in carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases.
Steve Gummer, partner at Sharpe Pritchard, said the report was ‘more evidence that climate change should be the primary focus of the public sector and other responsible bodies’.
While central government has committed to net zero emissions by 2050, it ‘hasn’t yet developed a consistent role for local government,’ he said.
‘This is understandable given the scale of the task is huge but central government needs to set out more clearly what it needs from local government in terms of net zero and then to give both the sector and individual local authorities the tools, funding, resources and targets to make a real difference as quickly as possible.
‘Local authorities have a diverse range of statutory functions and duties and as such they can play a huge role, in partnership with central government but also with other bodies they contract with to drive change and chart a path to a cleaner, heathier, sustainable environment. We are seeing industry leading innovation across local government for example hydrogen public transport, EV (electric vehicle) charging stations, district heating, developing port infrastructure. The depth of innovation is endless.’
