Caring for

Illustration for climate action and recovery

Outcome 2: Climate action – achieving net zero and adapting to climate change

Globally and nationally the response to addressing climate change has not been adequate. Global warming reached 1°C in 2017, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assesses that it is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate.

Climate change is therefore a universal pressure on and threat to the Lake District, its environment, economy and communities. Urgent actions to reduce carbon emissions are required. The impacts of climate change are evident now and will impact all aspects of the Lake District.

Increasing our focus on adapting to a changing climate and increasing the resilience of the Lake District, particularly around water resources management, is a pressing need. The UK Government passed laws in 2019 to end its contribution to global warming by 2050. This means the UK will be required to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

What are we trying to achieve?

We will support Cumbria’s 2037 net zero carbon ambition
We will lead a coordinated step change in climate action and net zero throughout the lifetime of this Plan
We will implement measures over the next ten years that will help the Lake District adapt and demonstrate resilience to the effects of climate change

Key transformative actions to achieve our ambitions

Using evidence from the Carbon Budget and other sources, lobby Government to develop new net zero incentives to re-trigger an acceleration in renewable energy production.
Lobbying Government to reduce VAT on the maintenance, repair and retrofitting of traditional buildings as a pilot in the Lake District.
By March 2024 secure agreement, by all Partners, on significantly reducing carbon emissions through business planning and delivering of carbon savings by integrating climate action into their business plans.
By June 2023 develop and agree a pipeline of new Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership sector projects for climate action to move towards addressing the gap identified that can be feasibly implemented in the next 10, 15, 20 years.
Empowering locally led climate action by creating a network of “climate champions” within communities by working with Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership to support delivery of local projects and community action, including citizen climate juries.

Other transformational actions that deliver climate action can be found in the other Outcome sections too. A number of additional actions we aim to deliver are identified in the list showing how we will deliver the Sustainable Development Goals through Climate Action.

Details of the Net Zero ‘gap’ can be found in the background information for the climate action key challenge.

Our measures of success include:

A 70% increase in renewable energy production by 2025 within the Lake District
95% of the LDNPP organisations signed up to addressing and delivering Climate Action.
Partners contribute a 10% annual carbon saving from their activities.
Five of the sector groups that operate in Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership produce a pipeline of investment ready projects for the Lake District.
Ten community champions coordinate delivery of local projects.

Research priorities

Production of a sensitivity/resilience map to climate change across the Lake District.
Exploring drought risk with respect to communities on private water supplies- planning for the future.
Investigating the relationship between drought and Lake District economic functionality of lake water levels.

More information can be found in the research framework such as developing carbon budgets for land management in the Forestry, Farming, Nature and Climate section.