Category: Cities and local authorities, Emission inventories, Policies and measures

Merton Council Climate Emergency Support

Aether and SE2 supported Merton Council in developing their action plan to meet targets to decarbonise the Council by 2030 and the borough of Merton by 2050

The challenge

Merton Council declared a climate emergency in July 2019 and set carbon reduction targets to decarbonise the Council by 2030 and the borough of Merton by 2050. Merton has a history of taking strong action in this area and has had a climate strategy since 2009. However, unprecedented change will be necessary going forward. Merton Council contracted Aether, along with SE2, to provide support in the preparation of Merton’s climate action plan. The challenge was to identify and quantify a range of actions that Merton might undertake to achieve the decarbonisation targets.

The solution

To underpin the development of Merton's Climate Strategy & Action Plan, Aether supported Merton Council by:

  • Establishing the scope of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to be included in the inventories and net zero carbon targets
  • Developing GHG inventories for the borough and council
  • Modelling decarbonisation pathways to reach the targets
  • Identifying and costing the range of actions that may be required
  • Identifying means to track progress towards the targets.

We partnered with SE2 to deliver two workshops; a small initial session with council staff focusing on the scope and principles of the targets, and a larger workshop with local stakeholders and interest groups to discuss the key actions that should be included in the decarbonisation modelling scenario.

Our modelling used the Carbon Scenario Model (CSM), an Excel based tool to develop decarbonisation pathways for the council up to 2030 and the borough to 2050, including individual GHG savings and costs of actions.

The result

Merton Council now has a greater understanding of the actions that are required within Merton to meet their decarbonisation targets. The actions identified and cost estimates have been used in the preparation of the new Climate Strategy & Action Plan.

Find out more about how Aether is supporting local authorities with Climate Emergency declarations here

 

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Testimonial

Don't just take our word for it...

“Chris was excellent to work with and always very pro active in making suggestions, taking work forward and applying his considerable technical knowledge in effective ways.”

Robert Vaughan, Defra Air Quality Team

“Aether delivered training workshops and generated learning materials for our SSN members, providing technical content in a manageable and comprehendible format. We particularly benefitted from their extensive knowledge and ability to interpret the needs of our members into the training materials.”

Jennifer Anderson, Sustainable Scotland Network

“The support provided by Aether for this project was especially remarkable considering the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tools and methods used in order to engage local stakeholders really added value to the capacity building of the national team.”

Shanna Emmanuel, Saint Lucia BUR Project Coordinator

“From their winning bid to final delivery, Aether's work with North Norfolk District Council was positive and thorough. They brought a clear understanding of the challenges local authorities face regarding carbon emissions and quickly understood the unique nature of the Coastwise project. Communication was effective, and the outcomes combined a depth of research with real-world utility for the council's activities around carbon emissions and mitigation.”

Alastair Zangs, North Norfolk District Council

“Aether was a great asset in involving/engaging with Member States experts on highly technical subjects regarding GHG reporting. Very clear communication of issues and results.”

Andreas Pilzecker, DG CLIMA

“The professional service provided by your company was of very high quality and completed within agreed timelines.”

Matthew Dudley, UNFCCC Secretariat

“If we have a need for any more reports in the future Aether will be first on my list.”

Alan Hardy, Kyson Design

“We have been collaborating with Aether for several years, and our projects have greatly benefited from it. Aether staff are very knowledgeable, professional and flexible - and last but not least, very friendly and a pleasure to work with.”

Umhverfisstofnun, Environment Agency of Iceland

“Both the face-to-face training and the online version have been of high quality, with dynamic methods and a practical orientation that have allowed students to reach a solid knowledge base. The products have been delivered within the stipulated deadlines with an excellent quality and the team has always shown willingness to make adjustments according to the requirements of CONAF. We are very satisfied with the work. ”

Javier Cano Martín, Professional Unit for Climate Change and Environmental Services, CONAF (National Forestry Corporation), Chile

“I must congratulate each of you for your professional and tireless efforts. Let me point out that this has been the 'neatest' in-country review expert review team I have coordinated, and it has been a real pleasure.”

UNFCCC Secretariat

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