Chair’s Blog No 6
By Professor Jules Pretty, Chair of the Essex Climate Action Commission
Nearly six years old. The Essex Climate Action Commission.
Still young. And in a hurry.
Five years ago, our first report made more than 100 recommendations. The message: climate and nature recovery is very broad, with many entry points, many potential actions. Lots of places for people to engage.
Two years ago, we documented 64 significant impacts arising from the work of the Commission and its seven Special Interest Groups. These we counted where there were improvements to people’s lives, to nature, and to infrastructure. We also counted significant strategies and policies developed by local Councils that will be acting as collective platforms for more rapid and frictionless change in the coming years.
As a new spring approaches, this blog summarises a raft of further changes across Essex, both big stuff and small detail.
Some of these transformations, if we could be so bold, have implications for national government. They show what an intermediate-level voluntary body, working with councils at county, unitary, district-city-town and parish levels, can do quickly.
We all get on and deliver. And then we talk about it.
I’ll end this blog with our recent 12 Calls-to-Action. We’re hoping that businesses, public sector organisations and charities, together with elected authorities, will help advance these calls.
What we’re saying is this: don’t be taken in by that tired thinking that says you can’t have nature and climate recovery if you want growth. These 12 Calls-to-Action are going to benefit people and nature, and at the same time boost growth of jobs and business activity.
Here I’ll summarise progress in four sectors: Homes, Water, Nature, Energy.
Homes and Housing
Suddenly, after lots of preparation, big numbers.
Seven Local Plans in the county are now aligned to net zero development policies. This means homes will have much lower energy bills and emit less carbon. Developers are on board and delivering. This is the new game in town. Homes for people that are comfortable, cheap to run, and not trashing the planet.
The Uttlesford Local Plan is the first to have both Operational Energy and Carbon (Net Zero) with an extra layer of Embodied Carbon policies for all new housing.
Already 147,000 new homes planned in Essex are aligned to the net zero standard. Some homes are already being built to this standard. These standards are called “healthy homes”, and also meet the well-known passive house (Passivhaus) standards applied elsewhere.
These homes will provide a national benefit. They will need no direct fossil fuels at all, helping reduce the country’s reliance on energy imports from increasing costly and risky markets. It will help economic growth by allowing money to be diverted, say for new skills and supply chains associated with lower carbon construction methods.
There are additional benefits, as these policies become increasingly joined up. New homes are also subject to Biodiversity Net Gain requirements, from this policy income options open up to farmers and landowners, by enhancing the ecological quality of their land rather than depleting it, and drinking water consumption benefits (see below).
One big challenge looms: proposals for large data centres, with ever increasing data needs such as for AI. These are seen as a national priority. They will drive growth. Yet at their locations, they’ll not provide many jobs, and will require astonishing amounts of electricity and water. You can imagine who will pay for this public infrastructure.
Six data centres are proposed for Essex, 140 for the country as a whole. The six in Essex will use the electricity equivalent to 2.1 million homes, more than the total in Essex at the moment. Ofgem has just stated that the 140 data centres nationally will require 50GW of energy – the equivalent of 17 Sizewell nuclear power stations, and 5GW above peak national demand this winter (45 GW on 11th February 2026). It’s unhelpful (a technical term) that these data centres want to use potable drinking water to cool their servers.
Water
We only have two problems.
Too much water. And too little. The driest part of the country, and now periods of intense rainfall brought by warmer air.
Essex is going to experience growing and extreme water stress. There will be shortfalls, unless a number of things change.
Fortunately long-distance water transfer by pipe and surface rivers already supplies water to reservoirs in the region. Now: somehow we’re going to need to use less water, at home and in businesses.
The average household uses 136 litres per person per day. The building regulations limit new-builds at 110 liters each person-day. A safe place looks to be about 85 litres.
Thus we may have a useful rule-of-thumb. Cut domestic water use limits for new homes by 25 litres per person per day, reduce existing household usage by 50 litres per person per day - and scarcity may be prevented.
We’re still going to need to address non-domestic water demand, such by encouraging greater water efficiency and more water reuse; requiring greater transparency around water use in data centres; spreading the uptake of water efficiency measures; and having more drought tolerant landscaping in new developments.
Smart meters make a difference (roughly cutting use by 30%), as do more efficient appliances, small changes in behaviour, and of course water companies cutting leaks. Our ECAC called for a new Water Strategy for Essex, and this was completed and published in 2024.
And yet, we’ve just gone through the wettest two months ever to start a year. Fields, rivers, roads and lanes, flooded, often impassable. Potholes hidden. It doesn’t look like we’re short of water.
What to do?
First, create more ponds and reservoirs on farms, ideally in a way to boost nature recovery and reduce flood risk alongside providing drought resilience. Farm methods that include rainwater harvesting, no-till (no-ploughing) to improve water holding capacity all year round, and the use of Nature-Based Solutions will all help encourage infiltration and groundwater recharge.
Second, set policies in development plans to get drinking water use per person down to between 75 to 85 litres a day.
Third, increase long distance water transfer.
Fourth, expand the use of Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) to address water over-supply (from rain) and water scarcity (from climate heat). These NBSs include leaky dams on rivers and streams, green water-holding facilities, creation of new wetlands (some with the help of beavers).
The key principle is this: use nature to hold the water, let it percolate slowly into the ground, let it fill groundwater reserves. This we want: stop fresh water running clear away to rivers and the sea.
Nature (Green Infrastructure and Land Use)
We’re proud to have been an early mover in completing a Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS). This has been led by Essex County Council, working with councils across Essex and in deep collaboration with the Local Nature Partnership of 40 county organisations. It highlights areas where nature is thriving, strategic opportunities for habitat creation or enhancement, and actions that can be taken to carry out creation/enhancement. It provides a platform for nature to become “bigger, better and more connected.”
Many communities, local groups and farmers will have a key role in delivering nature that is accessible to people to enjoy. As government makes further funding available, we hope to see scarcity turn to abundance.
The recent Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) policy that requires developers to offset their developments with biodiversity credits. Planning will start by prioritising developments to deliver BNG onsite and thus close to homes. BNG will also provide new sources of income for farmers and nature landowners. The Farm Clusters across Essex are leading the way in connecting farmers across whole landscapes. They are showing land can be more productive and be better for nature.
There’s another piece of tired legacy thinking that plays in here: you can’t have agriculture that is good for nature if you want food. This we now know to be nonsense, and farmers across the region are already showing why by adopting sustainable, regenerative and other food and environment-friendly methods.
In March 2026, Essex County Council will be publishing its Biodiversity Duty Report. This is a statutory requirement to fulfil the strengthened duty on public authorities to “conserve and enhance” biodiversity. The report communicates what ECC is doing to improve the environment and highlights the positive changes that have been made from Jan 2024 to Jan 2026.
Homegrown Energy
My autumn 2025 Chair’s Blog #2 detailed the wonderful advances in Community Energy in Essex. Communities across Essex are coming together to reduce energy bills, cut fuel poverty and increase renewable energy generation. There are exciting plans too to create local grids to share energy between households that produce and those in need.
Since then, two significant national policies have just been published (in Jan and Feb 2026).
The Local Power Plan sets national aspirations to deliver 8GW of local power generation by 2050 (equal to nearly three Sizewells). It wants to see 1000 local projects across the country, and will put in place £1 billion of funding in this parliament.
The Warm Homes Plan is putting £15 billion into cutting household bills, and making homes warmer and more efficient. The aim is to reach 5 million homes by 2030, with greater direct support for low-income households, a universal offer to all for low/no interest loans, boiler upgrades, and heat networks.
Every county will benefit, if businesses, public authorities and communities are ready to make the best of these new opportunities.
And now, another shift. National government has also just approved the deployment of plug-in solar to allow households without gardens or roofs to deploy solar panels on balconies of flats. In Germany last year, 1.5 million households installed plug-in solar panels on their balconies in tower blocks.
We can think of all these advances in energy efficiency, renewables generation and community sharing as means to increase “homegrown energy” – cheaper, more secure, less prone to international shocks.
There’s More!
The Commission is also focusing on active transport, waste management that helps create a circular economy, just transitions, low-carbon supply chains, engagement of schools and young people, the creation of a new climate and nature participation hub.
Essex County Council has launched a new Sustainable Essex website and has won national awards and accolades for its support for climate action.
The 12 Calls-to-Action
The Climate Action Commission published these 12 Calls-to-Action in February. We hope candidates standing for elections will use these to engage with voters. We hope businesses, public sector and charity organisations will find options for action here too. You can download the Calls-To-Action here.
1.Ensure everyone in Essex has a home that’s fit for the future
Ensure all new homes granted planning permission are built to a healthy homes (similar to passive house) standard to keep bills low, provide a healthier living environment and reduce pressure on the energy grid.
2. Champion water efficiency
Ensure all new homes, schools and other developments are built to the highest standards of water efficiency, helping to safeguard our water supply
3. Champion sustainable land and water management
Leverage the strength of Essex farmers and wildlife sectors, building on farm clusters and charities, to deliver landscape-scale projects that support water supply and local food production, reduce flood risk, expand biodiversity and create new jobs.
4. Expand green space and unlock investment in nature
Deliver the Local Nature Recovery Strategy to expand the networks of natural places in Essex, ensuring that all people can access local green space and coastal areas. This will lead to better health, cleaner air and increased protection for homes and businesses from flooding, water scarcity and overheating.
5. Expand innovations in local energy systems
Use Essex’s rich potential for renewable and local energy to build a clean energy system that supports economic growth and delivers lower bills, energy security, secure jobs and benefits to communities.
6. End fuel poverty
Deliver the Warm Homes Plan and tackle fuel poverty by increasing energy efficiency in existing homes. This will put money in people’s pockets, create jobs and support growth, whilst reducing pressure on the NHS and social care system and on the electricity grid.
7. Invest in skills to create new jobs
Champion inward investment by equipping people with the right skills for key growth sectors: sustainable construction, retrofit, clean-tech and regenerative agriculture.
8. Support communities doing it for themselves
Build on the Commission’s track record of engaging, empowering and working with a diverse range of communities on a wide range of issues (green space, biodiversity, affordable food, community energy), fulfilling local needs and delivering better health and improved quality of life for all.
9. Invest in rural and active transport
Improve bus services (identified as a priority by young people) and accelerate electric vehicle charging rollout in rural areas to increase access to services, jobs and education. Improve the transport network to support active travel and cleaner air, boost town centre footfall and create safer, more liveable communities.
10. Accelerate the shift to a circular economy
Foster cross-sector collaboration to reduce waste at source and deliver resource efficiency and circularity, creating jobs and economic growth. Invest in education, behaviour change and grassroots activities to enable reuse, repair and recycling to build a circular and fair economy, creating more jobs.
11. Champion sustainability in schools and colleges
Support learning and initiatives in schools and colleges, alongside apprenticeships in clean, sustainable industries, to create more job opportunities for young people and ensure they have the skills they need to access them.
12. Invest in the creation of ‘third spaces’
Prioritise the creation of safe, accessible, public green and indoor spaces where people can spend time together, to support health and wellbeing, reduce youth crime rates and develop a sense of belonging and civic identity.
Endnotes
I am grateful for the contributions and comments of Kerry Burgess, Tom Day, Douglas McNab and Graham Thomas, and particularly the Climate and Policy Unit (CAPU), all of Essex County Council, and all the officer support for Commission’s seven Special Interest Groups.
The Essex Climate Action Commission is Chaired by Professor Jules Pretty OBE DL. All Commissioners work voluntarily and are listed at: https://www.essexclimate.org.uk/our-commissioners.
For more reports and supporting material, see the Chair’s YouTube channel “Story for Climate and Nature Recovery: https://www.youtube.com/@JulesPretty58. See also www.julespretty.com.