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Local Government and Sustainability

Local Government and Sustainability. Tony Travers London School of Economics. Why local government can deliver. ‘Sustainability’ requires people to want to do things or to be convinced they need to change behaviour

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Local Government and Sustainability

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  1. Local Government and Sustainability Tony Travers London School of Economics

  2. Why local government can deliver • ‘Sustainability’ requires people to want to do things or to be convinced they need to change behaviour • Major question is: will it be easier/quicker to achieve change by a single, national, switch-over or by local experimentation • Local government will inevitably, at its most radical, be more radical than Whitehall

  3. Councils take the lead…. Examples include: • Introducing kerbside recycling • Alternate week collection • Charging for waste collection • Congestion charging/road pricing • Bus, cycle lanes • Plastic bags

  4. Whitehall is more cautious • Use of fuel tax as a ‘regulator’ to hold down the costs of motoring • 15+ years of research into road pricing • NB: Downing Street petition • Legislation to allow councils to move ahead • Landfill Tax on local government • LG to be left to convince the public • Energy Saving lamps etc via supermarkets

  5. A possible future:behaviour-changing taxation • Congestion charge/road pricing • London, possibly Manchester…. • Could be extended to many urban areas • Parking charges/levy • Widely used, off-street parking could be taxed • Waste charges • Powers to be given to councils • Local airport taxes? • Plastic bag ‘tax’?

  6. New, permissive, powers needed • All political parties at the local level appear more willing to address local environmental detriment • Because the consequences of environmental degradation can be seen locally • Whitehall could deliver more ‘sustainability’ objectives by giving councils more power to act

  7. Local Government and Sustainability Tony Travers London School of Economics

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