Professor Jules Pretty, Chair of the Essex Climate Action Commission
The world faces unprecedented and connected crises of climate instability and nature loss. Both are going to need coordinated and collective action at all levels of societies: local, regional, national, international. On climate at least, the public across the world seems ready. A 2025 study of 130,000 people in 130 countries found that 89% of people now understand and agree that climate change is both real and caused by human action.
The overarching aim is to remove carbon from our economies, in line with targets set by the UK government and International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This means the elimination of fossil fuels, a proposition that challenges many existing interests.
Nonetheless, support for new zero-carbon and nature-positive policies, institutions, and technologies is growing rapidly. 149 countries have set carbon-zero targets, covering some 90% of global GDP, greenhouse gas emissions, and global population. Take-up of solar, wind, battery and other renewable technologies has accelerated as prices have plummeted and sustainable practices in food, energy, and urban systems are increasingly widespread.
The benefits of climate action go far beyond reduced emissions. The shift away from fossil fuels implies a shift towards a renewable and regenerative economy with lower household bills, more jobs and stronger businesses, and more innovation.
More abundant and resilient natural environments with cleaner water, less waste, and more nature recovery then release income into the national economy – by improving health, reducing pollution costs, and cutting fossil fuel payments. In recent years, a group of novel intermediate institutions for climate action has emerged in the UK. These 26 independent city and county commissions are working with local communities, businesses, charities and the public sector to speed progress on local action for the climate and nature crises. The Essex Climate Action Commission (ECAC) is one.
Aims and Principles of the Essex Climate Action Commission
The ECAC was set up by Essex County Council (ECC) in 2019, with 40 independent commissioners and a secretariat supported by the Council. The ECAC was tasked with advising how Essex could reach net zero by 2050. The ECAC’s comprehensive report was published in 2021. It contained 100 recommendations addressing nature and green infrastructure, energy, waste, buildings and planning, water, transport, community engagement, and the transition to a just and greener economy. These proposed paths for change were deliberately wide, giving people of Essex many choices at any given place or time.
The ECAC recommendations were unanimously approved and supported by all political parties in Essex County Council in 2021, alongside publication of the Council’s first comprehensive Climate Action Plan. ECAC’s role then evolved from making recommendations to reviewing progress, supporting and amplifying the work of partners and increasing public engagement.
The Commission has just completed its first five years of work. During that time, Essex has made substantial progress and the Commission has seen, supported and contributed to 64 major impacts in the last five years. Here’s a summary.
Impacts Across Sectors in Essex
Nature and Green Infrastructure
Major achievements include the establishment of a new Climate Focus Area (CFA), which covers a third of the county and has seen parish nature recovery plans developed with residents, the emergence of farm clusters (where neighbouring farmers work together to introduce more sustainable and resilient practices) and investment plans of some £2.5m for regenerative farming and green infrastructure. The Essex Forest Initiative and the Essex Forest Partnership have together seen a million trees planted. ECC has led best practice in natural flood management. The Local Nature Recovery Strategy has just been published, one of only three in the country to date.
Energy
There have been 2752 solar installations on residents’ roofs via ECC’s Solar Together program. EDF and the Clacton-based CB Heating have built a new heat pump installers training academy. ECC has supported the roll out of retrofit training and the uptake of community energy schemes, with 35 active groups across the county.
Housing and Buildings
The Essex Developers' Group established a Climate Action Charter, the first of its kind in the country. With support from ECC’s Climate and Planning Unit, the Essex Planning Officers Association has published evidence and policy statements which will ensure new buildings in Essex become cheaper to run, healthier and more comfortable.
Similarly, Essex was ahead of the new national requirements for schools: all new school buildings have been net zero since 2021, delivering lower annual energy costs.
Transport
Transport East (a partnership of local transport authorities and operators in the eastern region) launched its Transport Strategy in 2023, with an ambitious target for regional net zero transport by 2040, ahead of the government target. Future transitions will include more public transport options, more infrastructure for active travel by cycling and walking, and more support for low-polluting electric vehicles.
Community
A large number of community climate, nature and energy groups have been formed across the county, a carbon cutting app has been launched, and climate advice packs produced for businesses, schools, early years’ settings, and residents. The Essex Air websitewas also launched, giving the public easy access to the latest information about air pollution.
Leadership
Councillor Peter Schwier, Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste Reduction and Recycling has provided strategic leadership as well as making regular visits to communities and climate improvement projects across Essex.
Awards
The extensive work across Essex has been shortlisted for national and local government awards and has won a number of plaudits. In 2025, the ECC was awarded an A-rating for its work on environmental action by CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project). This is the third year running the council has received the top rating. It is the only county council in the UK to achieve this.
The Time Available is Closing
Preventing climate breakdown is an enormous challenge, requiring the greatest economic and social shifts since the industrial revolution.
No wonder it is hard.
Yet at the same time, a social tipping point appears to be close, with so many people worldwide now supporting actions and policies to reduce and eliminate the adverse effects of the current economy on climate and nature.
But we are going to need more acts of creation and innovation.
Urgency is growing. Ten years ago, the Paris Agreement sought to obtain support to limit worldwide temperature rises to no more than +1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. At that time, it was expected that rises would be no greater than 0.1°C per decade.
Temperatures above +1.5°C are dangerous. They cause sudden and unexpected changes. These are often called tipping points. Once they happen, there’s no going back.
In 2023, there was a horrible leap and worldwide warming jumped from +1.2°C to +1.5°C. Since then, there has been an additional one-tenth of a degree in steady warming.
The average global temperature has been above +1.5°C for 2025. Suddenly what seemed a distant future is knocking at our door.
Time is tight. Making positive change at international scale is proving hard in the mid-2020s. Promised emission cuts are not occurring, policies are being slowed or reversed, and fossil fuels continue to be used. New conflicts and environmental crises distract and redirect political energy into short-term fixes.
The World Economic Forum has called this moment a critical leadership frontier. It says that climate and nature loss is business loss, and nature-positive approaches are a frontier for new economic opportunities. The WEF estimates that zero-carbon transitions could by 2030 have created US$10 trillion of value worldwide alongside 400 million new jobs.
In the UK, the statutory Climate Change Committee agrees. It reports that a new renewables economy will bring more jobs, reduced emissions, and reduced household costs.
The ECAC will continue to work with local public, private and charitable organisations to make Essex, we hope, an exemplar of progressive change and to bring tangible benefits to the 1.4 million people of Essex.
Jules Pretty is author of two recent books: Sea Sagas of the North (2022) and The Low-Carbon Good Life(2023). His website is at www.julespretty.com.
He and 28 co-authors recently published: “How the Concept of “Regenerative Good Growth” Could Help Increase Public and Policy Engagement and Speed Transitions to Net Zero and Nature Recovery”.