4. Local Action – Planning and Implementation

Local climate action, sustainable energy and urban planning are closely interconnected, focusing on action in the (municipal) government and whole community area. Change is needed to improve existing policies or develop new policies, raise peoples’ awareness on the need for change and how to do so, apply existing effective technologies and measures, and, last but not least, sustaining this over the longer term to achieve the required results. Three streams of local climate action are presented in this article, namely: strategy and policy; technology and measures; people and lifestyle – all closely inter-related, and linked to urban planning and sustainable energy. When addressing these issues, typical questions asked by local decision-makers and municipal staff revolve around aspects such as how to determine the right strategies and policies to guide the implementation of a Local Action Plan (LAP), where processes need to change, which key steps should form part of a LAP, how to select the right technologies, and how to engage people. The ‘people stream’ remains the largest challenge, in part also as it implies a redefinition of quality of life for all citizens – engaging them, retaining their interest, encouraging them to take responsibility for their choices, and radically changing the way they live.