The new Countryside Climate Network was launched recently, a network of rural councils with the aim of influencing national policy to reflect the needs of countryside councils.
Rural communities are at the frontline of feeling the effects of climate change. More extreme weather brings longer droughts and wetter winters. Our national interest is damaged when our food production is damaged. And for the two thirds of people who live outside the largest urban areas, climate change brings hardship to our villages and towns. Rural communities are often more prone to certain impacts of climate change, such as extreme droughts or flooding, and disruption to livelihoods such as agriculture and food production. But these communities can also be at the forefront of climate action, with the involvement of all tiers of authority in all geographical areas of the UK essential to meeting the government’s goal of becoming Net-Zero by 2050.
Currently, 21 councils, which collectively represent 40% of England’s land area, have signed up to the Countryside Climate Network. An open letter to ministers stating their commitment to securing a net-zero future for the UK was signed by the ambitious leaders of these councils.
Cllr Steve Count, Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council and chair of the Countryside Climate Network, has expressed frustration that previous economic recovery packages have largely missed the rural voice.
To find out more information or sign up your council, click here.
