Action to tackle climate change across Cumbria is led by a partnership of more than eighty organisations from all different walks of life in the county.
To work towards a net zero carbon county by 2037 with improved quality of life, people living in balance with their environment and a sustainable low carbon economy.
We marked the changing of the season with an inspiring and informative full partnership meeting on Wednesday 13 September. The event, hosted by new co-chair David F Murphy, Associate Professor of Sustainability & Collaborative Leadership, University of Cumbria, set the stage for an exciting autumn ahead. The agenda kicked off
The partnership is working towards the goal of net zero carbon emissions in Cumbria by 2037, while ensuring that Cumbria benefits from the opportunities this brings. Its purpose is to plan and oversee a radical programme of action that will enable Cumbria to become a net zero carbon county and to mitigate the likely impact of existing climate change.
The partnership’s key aims and objectives are to:
Two of the partnership’s greatest strengths are its diversity and that it is community led. There are representatives from many different walks of life including local authorities, local sustainability groups, schools, the farming sector, NHS, police, Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), businesses, national parks, Natural England, the Environment Agency, Electricity North West, United Utilities and more.
The partnership is currently jointly chaired by Karen Mitchell (chief executive of Cumbria Action for Sustainability) and David F Murphy (Associate Professor of Sustainability & Collaborative Leadership and Academic Lead of the Initiative for Leadership & Sustainability, University of Cumbria).
Tim Gale is the partnership manager, hosted by Cumberland Council.
As part of ongoing governance reviews, ZCCP is considering future reporting structures following local government reorganisation. As new local leaders groups are established we will work with partners to ensure that ZCCP keeps them well informed of progress and opportunities for collaboration.To ensure progress towards net zero carbon, the partnership is steered by a Strategic Oversight Board, currently chaired by Steve Curl.
The full partnership meets quarterly. There is also a quarterly meeting of the Strategic Oversight Board. The sector groups each set their own meeting schedules, to best suit their work.
The main way that the partnership will drive change is through its working groups, which focus on the main sources of emissions in Cumbria. There are four groups up and running now, and new groups may be formed to focus on other themes.
The partnership has made some big strides forward, laying the groundwork for the shift towards a zero carbon county.
The partnership has been growing and evolving since it was first set up in 2019. It has succeeded in bringing together very diverse organisations to work towards the shared goal of carbon reduction.
An early challenge has been putting in place the systems and governance needed to support the 80 organisations to work together effectively and join up their efforts – everything from IT to enable collaboration through to administrative support.
On the governance side, a new Oversight and Steering Group met for the first time in June 2022. It’s been set up to assist with the coordination and ongoing development of the partnership. Chaired by Steve Curl, it will have interim members for its first year to get it up and running, with its longer term membership to be decided by the partnership.
Some of the partnership’s early efforts have been focused on making links and building relationships with other organisations and networks in Cumbria and the wider north west, involving more of the people who can influence carbon reduction in the county.
Much of the partnership’s direct work on carbon reduction will happen through sub-groups being set up to focus on specific sources of emissions, from housing through to transport.
Businesses and organisations in the public and third sectors in Cumbria have been building carbon reduction into their strategies and plans, and some also have dedicated climate action plans.
Click the button below to find links to the climate action plans of some key organisations. You’ll also find links to some of the Cumbria-wide strategies that are relevant to carbon reduction, such as health, transport, nature recovery, jobs and skills. These show the wider context of the partnership’s work.
