Government must work with communities to achieve net zero, as 41% of people say current plans don’t consider their needs – new report

A new British Academy report says the government must work harder to understand the needs of people across the UK to hit its net zero targets, while also navigating strained public finances, rising inequalities and eroding public trust.

The report, Governance to accelerate net zero, says the government needs to shift away from blanket national policies which rely on mass individual behavioural change. Instead, it should tailor net zero policy to the varied needs and concerns of people and mobilise community groups, local authorities, and local businesses to work together to make their local area more sustainable. To make this possible, action is needed from each level of government in each region.

The British Academy says embedding the needs of people and addressing inequalities between communities is key to sustaining public support. Collaborative leadership will also be needed to achieve net zero in every city, town and neighbourhood in the country. The report urges the Government’s Clean Energy Superpower Mission Board to comprehensively strengthen the governance of net zero – improving coordination and accountability to fulfil legal targets for the public good.

The report warns that the complexity of net zero is creating frictions in decision-making and putting the brakes on vital progress. The Climate Change Committee says it could be possible for the government to achieve net zero by 2050 if it “accelerates” its actions. However, a High Court ruling in 2024 found that the government’s current climate strategy is not fit for purpose and must be redrafted by the end of October 2025.

But positive moves are already being made across the UK that can inform strategies and missions to drive forward net zero. The report highlights several success stories, such as in the London borough of Hackney, where Ofgem, the private sector and Hackney Council have worked together to break down barriers to providing solar energy for Hackney residents living in flats. The scheme uses equipment owned by the Council, poses no up-front costs to tenants and shaves 20% off their energy bills. It is expected to pay for itself and due to its success, Hackney Council has raised investments to extend the scheme to council-owned homes, with Ofgem looking at how the model could be replicated for people living in flats elsewhere in the country.

The report recommends that national and regional policymakers:

• Review and revise climate plans and strategies (including the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan, Local Power Plan & Warm Homes Plan) to strengthen democratic net zero governance and decision-making.
• Use ongoing devolution in England and review of national funding frameworks to enable local leadership and place-led collaboration.
• Use the upcoming Public Participation Strategy to remove barriers faced by different communities to join and benefit from the net zero transformation.
• Make public investments conditional on planning for a just transition to net zero and make UK state investment conditional on participation in just transition planning for multi-national corporate emitters.

The report concludes a three-year review of net zero governance by the British Academy, the national academy for the humanities and social sciences. Opinium polling commissioned in May 2025 revealed that only one in six UK adults are confident they understand the action the government is taking to achieve net zero, with 41% likely to say the government is doing a bad job at considering their needs when creating or implementing net zero policies, compared with a good job (12%).

Professor Andy Jordan, a Fellow of the British Academy who led the programme, said:

“Political leaders have adopted realistic net zero targets, but they will be significantly more straightforward to deliver if the right governance is in place, namely collaborative, localised and tailored to what people have repeatedly said they want. This report confirms that it is possible to create solutions to the climate change crisis which improve everyone’s lives and tackle inequalities, as well as reduce emissions.  The British Academy stands ready to work with the government on delivering net zero at pace.”

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The British Academy’s policy work is enabled by funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). The policy insights and advice that emerge from Academy policy work are independent from the government.