Council Climate Scorecards: to the next level!

Help us do more with the Council Climate Action Scorecards

It’s been three years since councils started declaring a Climate Emergency, many with 2030 as a target date for getting to net zero carbon emissions.

The Council Climate Plan Scorecards project has assessed every council's Climate Action Plan across nine vital criteria, so everyone can understand which are on the right track, and which still have work to do. 

It's a massive project, and it's all been managed on a shoestring — thanks to the goodwill of a large cohort of dedicated volunteers. Next year, we want to score councils on actual climate action, but if we're to do this properly, we need your support. 

Will you help us take the project into its next stage?

The Scorecards are an amazing start, but they're just the beginning. Next year, we plan to measure councils on the actual climate action that they’ve put in place, using a robust set of industry-standard metrics based on input from climate experts.

Councils are complex and varied, and can be confusing. Similarly, the action needed to tackle the climate emergency is vast, multi-layered and may differ across different regions. But the drive towards net zero can only be enhanced by better public knowledge. When everyone understands what their council is trying to put in place, and why, they are more likely to get on board with the changes being made.

Our planned development will make it easy for residents to see what their council is achieving. It'll also be of massive help to councils who can learn from one another — and maybe even work together. Our first Scorecards launch, which assessed just the plans not the action, operated without dedicated funding. We can't go on that way. In order to do our plans for the Scorecards of actual climate action, we’re going to need your help. 

According to the 6th Carbon Budget, 30% of progress towards net zero needed across all sectors relies on local authority involvement scope. That means that this project can make a massive difference to the UK's ability to cut carbon emissions up and down the country.

Now, more than ever, we need councils taking climate action, and residents to be informed on this action, and able to advocate for further action. 

It’s time we found out what action is being taken, and advocate for further action to ensure all councils can be climate leaders. 

Why we need your help

Climate Emergency UK CIC is a new organisation: only three years old and already punching well above its weight in the sector. 

With no core funding, and so much of our work done by volunteers, we need funds in order to staff ourselves adequately. We need skilled people to create the scorecards, apply for funding and strengthen our organisation. We primarily work with community campaigners who are all volunteers, and councils, who have had their budgets slashed by the national government for years. 

What we've achieved so far under these conditions is — though we don't like to boast  — remarkable. However, it's just not tenable long term. We know people are excited about Scorecards to assess actual climate action, but in order to achieve everything we know we're capable of, we need your support.

What your donation will fund

With your support, we can put in the time needed to create and publish Scorecards based on councils' tangible climate action in the next 18 months. Without funding, we won’t be able to provide in-depth analysis, or cover as many topics, and there is no guarantee when we will be able to publish these updated scorecards.

Depending on how much we raise, we’ll be able to do some or all of the following:

• Conduct consultation sessions with councillors, officers, residents, environmental organisations and campaigners on how best  to measure council climate action
• Conduct research and employ expert advice into what publicly available information there is on council climate action
• Recruit, train and support volunteers to use the above information in the marking of council climate action
• Employ staff to apply for grant funding from other bodies
• Run an extensive launch campaign when the Scorecards are published, in order to reach as many people as possible — having a knock-on political effect as councillors see the public demand for action. 

Within our current limited capacity we have already:

• Trained and supported over 150 volunteers in the last nine months who have helped create the Scorecards
• Consulted with over 500 people on the Council Climate Plan Scorecards, including campaigners, Councillors, council officers and other climate organisations and charities
• Gained extensive social media and press coverage of our Council Climate Plan Scorecards

Why is our work important? 

Some councils are going above and beyond on climate action, while some just don’t know where to start, or are somewhere in between. Outside of councils there are many groups campaigning for climate action locally. Both sides require an agreed set of metrics to show what good climate action looks like.

Councils and campaigners want to know what climate action their council can take, and want to learn from other councils. The Scorecards we have produced this year, and the material we hope to produce next year, are reliable tools to see what councils are already doing and what they could be doing to improve. They provide the missing piece in the jigsaw puzzle of council climate campaigning. 

Chloe, a Friends of the Earth volunteer said: “I want my council to do more on climate action, but I don’t know what they can do. This is a good idea to help residents know what can be achieved and work with their council for change.” 

This is the first time any organisation has tried to track and measure council climate action on this scale. We believe that our work will be instrumental in supporting further climate action at a local level, from residents lobbying their council more effectively, to councils learning from each other with their different scores. 

Our target

We’re aiming to raise at least £10,000 to support this project. 

Your donation - large or small -  will help ensure that Climate Emergency UK has the capacity to create Council Climate Action Scorecards in-depth and in time, for all those who want to and are working towards climate action now. 

Thank you for your support!