Councils should have a legal duty to fight climate change

The Climate Emergency UK team: Claire, Isaac, Annie and Don, at the Scorecards Successes Conference on 21 March 2023

Council Climate Action Scorecards: How can they help us lobby for change?

Most councils want to do more for climate action – but wanting isn’t the same as being able, especially when budgets are stretched and resources are tight. That’s why transparency, public pressure and proper resources all matter. What’s the solution for this? The Council Climate Action Scorecards. 

Created by Climate Emergency UK, the scorecards give a detailed picture of what each local authority is actually doing to tackle the climate and nature crisis. They can be used as a tool for residents to lobby their council, for councils to learn from each other, and for campaigners to push for bigger change.  

“The act [of publishing the scorecards] in and of itself is kind of a lobbying tool,” said Annie Pickering, Operations Director at Climate Emergency UK, on the Carbon Copy Podcast. “It encourages councils to know where they’re at and improve – but it’s also a tool for residents… and we’re using them to lobby for change at a national level too.” 

Why statutory duty could change everything

One of the barriers that councils face is that there’s no legal duty for them to act on climate change. As Annie pointed out, this leaves them searching for funding and unable create consistent action in a long-term sustainable way. 

“We’re advocating at national level for councils to have a legal duty to act on climate… but also crucially for us, we want that to be funded,” Annie explained. “So councils aren’t looking for funding to do work that they know their residents want.” 

If councils had proper statutory duty, with funding to back it up, it would allow them to take the actions that so many local areas want to take for climate – cleaner air, green spaces and warmer homes. The scorecards are at the foundations of this: they show what is possible, and the statutory duty would help to deliver it across the UK. 

New 2025 scorecards just released

The latest Council Climate Action Scorecards were released on 17 June 2025, and they offer us a new look at how councils are progressing in their commitments since their last release in 2023. Whilst there are some improvements in some areas, it’s clear there’s still a long way to go for most councils in the UK. 

If you want to look at how your local council is doing, see best practices and compare it to other councils in the UK you can check your councils scorecard here.  

How to use the scorecards to make a difference

On the surface, the scorecards just look like data. But they’re so much more than that. They’re a starting point for lobbying, campaigning and for community-led change. They can help residents to hold their councils accountable, get councils to push for better local policies and get local groups to show support or pressure where it is needed. 

If you want to use your councils score to lobby for change, or get involved in the statutory duty campaign, head over to Climate Emergency UK, where you’ll find all the tools and information to act for climate now. 

If you want to see the sources and levels of polluting carbon emissions produced in your local area, visit our local emissions page.

If you’d like to find out about other campaigns helping you to lobby for change locally, visit our 25 Big Local Actions in 2025 page.