The climate commons: How communities can thrive in a climate changing world

Article

The climate crisis, and the response to it, present opportunities for communities in the UK as well as threats.

The threats that communities face range from the impacts of the climate crisis itself (flooding, heatwaves) to the impacts of the economic transition (jobs, industries), as well as the need to make changes within neighbourhoods and local areas to reduce carbon emissions and meet the challenges of the transition. But, managed well, the transition to a greener economy offers the opportunity to reshape local areas in a way that improves health and wellbeing, tackles inequalities and improves quality of life.

At present, we are neither making the most of the opportunities available nor managing the unequal negative impacts of the
climate crisis and the transition. For communities to thrive in a climate changing world they must be given greater ownership and agency not just over the process of the transition but of the assets and benefits that arise from it.

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