British Academy paper: Aligning local and national governance for Net Zero

CCE has written a paper for the British Academy called Aligning local and national governance for Net Zero – what is the potential for Locally Determined Contributions? It was published on the Evidence Hub of their website as part of a new series of commissioned articles, referenced in a new British Academy report on ‘Governance to accelerate net zero’.

Authors: Sophy Bristow, Dr Karen Barrass, Harriet Harthan, Kevin Fenning, Benedict Pery, Matthew Cresswell, Caitlin Cutts, Mateusz Grzegorczyk, Judith Hannam.  

The paper, Aligning local and national governance for Net Zero – what is the potential for Locally Determined Contributions? shares insights from the development of a guidance framework to support local authorities in designing Locally Determined Contributions (LDCs). 

Local authorities play a pivotal role in addressing climate change, making substantial contributions to both national targets and global ambitions. Yet their actions are not always consistent or formally recognised. Achieving collective climate goals and unlocking investment, requires clearer guidance and greater transparency and standardisation of local climate responses. 

This paper presents the initial findings from work in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, where the Centre for Climate Engagement (CCE) at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, is leading the development of an LDC guidance framework. Funded by Innovate UK and delivered in partnership with local bodies including Cambridgeshire County Council, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, and district councils, the project seeks to establish a replicable model for other regions. 

The emerging guidance framework is designed to support local climate strategy development, strengthen alignment with national policy, and enable place-based investment in net zero. Part of Innovate UK’s Net Zero Living programme, this initiative offers an innovative approach to integrating local and national climate governance. The paper outlines key learnings to date and sets out the project’s next steps. 

“Our LDC framework is designed to support Cambridgeshire’s focus on creating resilient places and communities. This paper argues the case that the LDC approach should be adopted more widely as a powerful tool to align local and national governance for net zero, unlocking place-based investment, and building resilience from the bottom-up.” 

Sophy Bristow,
Head of Programmes at CCE and lead on the project.

About the British Academy  

The British Academy is the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. Its purpose is to deepen understanding of people, societies and cultures, enabling everyone to learn, progress and prosper.