UK100's Interim Chief Executive, Jason Torrance, responds to the Government’s new air quality strategy, and the associated 10-day consultation.

Looking back at the Green Day announcements, have Ministers made the best of this test? Have they taken the right path at this critical fork in the road?

On ’Green Day’ we hoped to see a plan for Net Zero delivery that understands, as the Government’s Independent Mission Zero report did, that local authorities are the key to achieving Net Zero in the UK. Our hopes, however, have been dashed on the ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams.’ Today’s announcements fall far short of unlocking the ambition and ability within local government to go further and faster in delivering Net Zero.

Responding to the Spring Budget, UK100 welcomes the short-term energy bill relief but reiterates its call for a long-term solution, targeted at the most vulnerable.

UK100 writes to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities with recommendations for the National Planning Policy Framework to address the climate and ecological emergency, seize the economic opportunities that the transition to Net Zero presents and build communities and infrastructure resilient to the worst impacts of climate change.

This week Sheffield became the latest city to implement a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) to tackle an estimated 500 deaths a year related to air pollution in the city.

UK100 responds as House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee slams “failing” Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Responding to the latest air quality statistics release from Defra, which reveals illegal levels of PM2.5 pollution across the UK, UK100’s Interim Chief Executive, Jason Torrance, calls for Ministers to finally listen to local leaders and experts to tackle the toxic crisis.

Collaboration in Gloucestershire is a shining example of local government leadership. An example we hope the Transport Secretary and the national government will follow in supporting regions across the country to collaborate for local Net Zero.

Since 2019 the majority of UK local authorities have declared a Climate Emergency, and 327 have produced a climate action plan of how they plan to reach Net Zero by their own target date (if they have one) of 2030, 2040 or 2050. These plans vary in length, design, topics covered and ambition. So how can you tell which council has a good climate action plan, a plan that the council is actually able to implement, and that the subsequent actions will mean that the council reaches Net Zero before 2050? Annie Pickering, Co-Director of Climate Emergency UK, writes for UK100's blog on climate action plans.