The Carbon Trust has called on local authorities to make the most of the multimillion-pound funding available to reduce their carbon footprints.
Richard Rugg, head of public sector at the Carbon Trust, said it was ‘imperative’ that councils took advantage of the £51.5m of new loan funding that was made available in the Budget.
‘We have heard from a number of councils about some great projects and targets, but what really matters now is implementation. We now have the financial resources to implement these.
‘Councils must be aware that this opportunity won’t come again and the funds are available for a limited period only so those interested must put in their applications now.’
So far, £13m has been allocated to local authority schemes and the rest will be available – through interest-free loans from the Department of Energy and Climate Change – to councils until the end of the year.
‘We are doing whatever we can do to enable local authorities to make the most of this pot of money. It would be a tragedy for this chance to slip by,’ Mr Rugg added. ‘This is a very big opportunity for local authorities to engage with the scheme.’
This year, organisations participating in the Carbon Trust’s carbon-management programme – including 71 local authorities – had committed to reduce emissions by an average of 25% over a five-year period. This figure is up from 12% in 2005
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