When John Denham announces today that councils could “lead the way” in driving down carbon emissions, many council members will surely mutter to themselves that he is a bit behind the curve.

Lots of councils have already put eco-friendly measures in place, not only Manchester which Denham will flag up today, but throughout the UK.

In the current issue of Total Politics Ben Duckworth speaks to Merton councillor, David Simpson, who agrees that local authorities “should be raising the flag” for environmental measures rather than leaving it up to national governments. Among the initiatives in his area, the ‘Merton Rule’ requires new developments in the region to generate a minimum of 10 per cent of their energy from on-site renewable sources.

There is a great willingness to take measure to reduce emissions — indeed, energy saving and reducing landfill go hand in hand with saving money for councils in the long run — the question is how they should do this.

The fact that different councils have approached the issue from various angles so far provides a good opportunity to analyse what works and what doesn’t.

As this article emphasises, it is proving difficult to motivate lower-earning socio-economic groups to bother to be green, while organic-buying, bag-for-life carrying, “eco-evangelists” remain unprepared to give up luxuries, or indeed flights.

While councils can go so far in investing in cleaner transport, and making sure the lights in their own buildings are switched off, it is vital that they give a great deal of thought to how to foster eco-friendly behaviour among residents.

Different approaches may need to be taken in different socio-economic areas. Proper analysis of whether residents respond most positively to measures which make recycling easier, financial incentives (“cutting-waste-cuts-council-tax”) , or making recycling legally compulsory, must be carried out and acted upon if a national green revolution is really to take place.

UPDATE: Julia Goldsworthy agrees that local councils put national government to shame when it comes to cutting emissions and making efficiency savings. In her response to Denham’s speech, the Communities and Local Government Secretary expands the issue out to the devolution of powers, arguing that “John Denham should put his money where is mouth is — instead of simply praising local councils, he should give them greater powers and access to resources as well.”

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