Earlier this year, CAG was commissioned by the sustainable energy charity Ashden to develop content for a new ‘Climate Action Co-benefits Toolkit’ for city regions and local authorities.

The idea for the toolkit came from the City Region Sustainability Network, which Ashden hosts and which is faciltiated by CAG partner Emma Jones (who was also lead author on the toolkit). It demonstrates how action on climate change can deliver many local benefits, including improved health, increased equity and social cohesion, economic opportunities and increased resilience.

Each of the co-benefits chapters includes facts and figures, links to data for local areas, the business case for taking action, opportunities for action and inspirational examples of successful initiatives from around the country. There are also some videos which bring these concepts to life.  It will be useful both to councils that have already declared climate emergencies and those where elected members still need persuading that climate action is something they need to prioritise.

The first edition of the toolkit was launched by Ashden and the Grantham Institute at Imperial College on 20 June 2019. The toolkit can be accessed here and a recording of the launch event, which featured a keynote address from Jonathan Porritt plus presentations from Neil Jennings (Grantham Institute), Jane Wildblood (Bath and North  East Somerset), Mark Atherson (Greater Manchester Combined Authority) and others, can be found here .

If you’d like to talk to us about how we can support your organisation in this area, please get in touch: hq@cagconsult.co.uk, T: 020 8555 6126.