Close to home: How to engage local communities in the development of Local Area Energy Plans (LAEPs)
Reaching Net Zero by 2050 will require location-specific and cost effective solutions that make sure no one is left behind. These include setting up Local Area Energy Plans (LAEPs) to map out the transition at a local level.
Our new research shows that people strongly believe local communities should have a say in how their local areas transition to net zero, because of the impact it could have on their lives. It’s clear that the engagement and buy-in of local people will be essential to the success of any LAEP - and therefore the success of meeting our national net zero targets.
We wanted to find out from people themselves what meaningful community engagement meant to them. Together with members of the public we put together a Citizens Charter which outlines a set of principles of engagement for local authorities to follow when developing LAEPs.
Government should be accelerating the local delivery of net zero because it's right that local communities drive changes in their area and see the benefits that the net zero transition can bring. That means giving local authorities the support, funding and powers they need to deliver net zero.