Power Shift

UK100, Quantum
May 2021
Our Power Shift report is the most comprehensive examination of the powers local authorities have and need to deliver on climate ever undertaken. It draws on previous expert reports, including those produced for government, combined with a series of interviews with local authorities and other stakeholder organisations.
In our response to ofgem's consultation on the Regional Energy Strategic Plan (RESP) policy framework, we highlighted our support for RESP's bottom-up approach but emphasised the need for standardised local energy planning, better data consistency, increased local authority capacity, clear accountability frameworks, and effective stakeholder engagement to deliver regional energy strategies.
In our response to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), we argued that the NPPF must prioritise climate change as the primary focus of planning. We called for stronger support for local climate action, explicit carbon impact assessments, and greater protection for carbon-sequestering habitats while emphasising the need to align with Net Zero goals.
UK100's latest report "Local Net Zero 2.0: The Moment to Deliver" welcomes the new government's clean energy, devolution and planning reform ambitions while exposing the inherited "broken local government system" that is hampering councils' ability to deliver on them.