Climate Change

All communities contribute to climate change through emissions from their energy use, transport and consumption. Whilst there are challenges associated with dealing with the impacts of climate change there are also opportunities.

RCAN members have successfully initiated numerous community projects that contribute to the climate change agenda. ACRE’s national 21st Century Village project, begun in 2006, set the scene for communities to explore and take more control of their own sustainability. We support communities to harness local community assets for energy production, introduce community-based transport schemes to reduce reliance on the car and ensure local community-owned facilities adopt energy efficient practices in both their design and their use. The feed-in-tariff scheme already provides regular payments to eligible householders and communities who generate their own electricity from renewable sources. Forthcoming governmental initiatives such as the Green Deal to help improve household energy efficiency and the renewable heat incentive, payments for generating heat from renewable sources, also provide additional opportunities for rural areas .

ACRE Policy Position Paper: Climate Change

Climate Change Policy Position Paper

ACRE has compiled a number of Policy Position Papers reflecting the issues of importance to rural communities and how our members in RCAN respond to them. The text below highlights part of ACRE's Climate Change Policy Position Paper

We believe that rural communities have greater potential than most to take action to address the impacts of climate change. They can develop innovative approaches to both change individual behaviour and promote sustainable lifestyles through collective action.

For more information about our approach and examples of some of the solutions provided through RCAN members take a look at the what communities can do page and our Climate Change Policy Position Paper.

ACRE in collaboration with a number of organisations is encouraging heating oil customers to buy early to avoid running out of fuel this winter.

Buying heating oil in late summer and early autumn when customer demand is lower often means the price of heating oil tends to be lower and suppliers have the capacity to make more deliveries.

DECC and Defra are both supportive of the need to encourage heating oil consumers to buy early. Citizen's Advice have also launched a web portal as part of the Buy Fuel Early campaign.

Best Practice for Oil Buying Groups has been launched as part of the Buy Fuel Early campaign. The publication produced by ACRE, Citizen's Advice and the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers provides practical information to help communities set up oil buying groups.