Climate change blog - 2025 a year of challenge and change
In this month's blog, Angela Jones, ADEPT President and Director of Thriving Places for Westmorland & Furness Council reflects on 2025, a year of transition for climate action in local government and looks ahead to what 2026 may bring.
A moment for reflection
2025 was a year of both challenge and momentum for ADEPT’s Climate Change Board and our wider network of peers and partners.
From the publication of the Climate Change Committee’s Seventh Carbon Budget to the continuing work of the Blueprint Coalition and the launch of ADEPT’s Carbon Leadership Programme, there has been a growing sense that the role of local authorities in achieving a lower carbon future is now firmly recognised.
However, it is not yet fully resourced and going forward we will continue to highlight areas where greater support is required from central government. This is more of a challenge given that the political consensus has broken down both nationally and locally and the target of net zero by 2050 has become a political dividing line. There is a wider international challenge too with the failure of the COP30 conference in Brazil to come up with an agreement to hasten the transition from fossil fuels and to tackle deforestation.
As President of ADEPT, I am inspired by the energy behind our members’ work. Throughout the year, our climate change blogs have captured the diversity of local climate leadership, from pioneering approaches to planning reform and place-based financing, to understanding public behaviour and supporting household transitions for carbon reduction.
Responding to the Seventh Carbon Budget
2025 began with ADEPT members engaging closely with the Climate Change Committee’s launch of the Seventh Carbon Budget. The CCC’s new targets of an 87% reduction in emissions by 2038–2042, placed unprecedented emphasis on local delivery. Back in April, Emma Pinchbeck, the CCC’s new Chief Executive, joined our Climate Change Board to discuss how local authorities could translate national ambition into practical action.
Her message was clear, that local leadership will make or break the UK’s climate targets. Our discussions highlighted how electrification, grid readiness, planning and land use will all depend on empowered councils with the right powers, funding and skills.
The theme of making the case for people and place has run like a strong thread through every part of ADEPT’s work throughout 2025.
Innovation and practical leadership
Midway through the year, ADEPT launched its Carbon Leadership Programme (CLP), supported by the Department for Transport (DfT) and delivered by the team at Proving Services.
This is the first national initiative to provide consistent data and benchmarking on local highway carbon emissions. It combines practical tools with peer learning and helps local highway authorities measure, manage and reduce their carbon footprints.
For me, the CLP exemplifies ADEPT’s core strengths of collaboration, innovation and practical evidence-led support.
It builds on our Future Highways Research Group (FHRG) and complements the Live Labs 2 programme, which continues to test new approaches to decarbonising local roads. Together, they show that local authorities can lead with evidence-based solutions that deliver both environmental and economic value.
From planning reform to public engagement
Throughout the year, the Climate Change Board explored how policy reform can strengthen local delivery. In February 2025, we hosted a Blueprint Coalition webinar on planning reform, chaired by Sophie Broadfield, which set out how the revised National Planning Policy Framework can better align planning with climate and adaptation goals.
In April, our blog on Locally Determined Contributions, led by Cambridgeshire County Council, proposed a framework for linking local action to national carbon targets. A vital next step in creating accountability and confidence for future investment.
In May, environmental charity Hubbub shared its ‘Home Advantage’ research on how households can be supported to make low-carbon choices, reminding us that people and place must remain at the heart of the transition.
A changing political context
The political landscape shifted dramatically following the May local elections. David Dale’s August blog explored how changing council leaderships including the emergence of new administrations questioning local climate commitments, could reshape the climate agenda.
This highlighted a fundamental truth, that climate action depends on stable policy, sustained leadership and community engagement. The debate around statutory climate duties has become central to this.
Our June blog, authored by Eamon Lally from the LGA, examined whether a duty could help secure consistent local action. The overwhelming conclusion was that local authorities need clarity, long-term funding and flexibility, not another unfunded mandate.
Climate resilience and reform
The conversation on local powers and responsibilities continued at our ADEPT Autumn Conference in Manchester in November. Over two inspiring days, delegates discussed devolution, local government reform and the challenge of delivering climate action in uncertain times.
We reflected on the future of place leadership and the message was consistent. That strong, confident local leadership remains the cornerstone of both adaptation and mitigation of climate impacts.
Local Government Reform, if done well, can empower local authorities to deliver climate resilience at scale, but it must be matched with the correct funding and accountability.
Looking ahead to opportunities and responsibilities
Throughout 2025, ADEPT’s Climate Change Board has continued to provide a trusted space for partnerships and knowledge sharing.
We have engaged directly with central government and national partners to ensure that the voice of place directors is heard at every level.
Although naturally an optimist, I’m certain that the coming year will bring further complexities. Local Government Reform will reshape structures and responsibilities, and the new devolution framework offers both opportunities and risks for climate delivery. Our task is to ensure that climate ambition is embedded, not just treated as an optional extra. We will continue to work with civil servants and to influence MPs and Ministers to strengthen the Devolution Bill to help achieve this.
The power of local leadership
I am immensely proud of what ADEPT and its members achieved in 2025. The Climate Change Board has grown in influence and impact, providing practical leadership and insights that have benefitted many.
Despite the shifting political and financial landscape, local authorities remain the engine of climate delivery and ADEPT members have demonstrated resilience, innovation and optimism in the face of change. We look forward to seeing the outcome of the LGA’s further work on a statutory climate duty. We are also awaiting the results of the further work commissioned by the Climate Change Committee in the wake of the Seventh Carbon Budget and hope that this will give a renewed impetus to local delivery of action on mitigation and adaptation.
The challenges are significant but so too are the opportunities. Together, we can ensure that local climate leadership continues to drive national progress, creating the resilient and sustainable places our communities need and deserve.
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- Angela Jones, ADEPT President and Director of Thriving Places, Westmorland & Furness Council
