In 2007, Defra published ‘Ways to tackle Climate Change’ for use by the town and parish council sector. Building on this initial work, Action for Communities in Rural England (ACRE) and Defra through the LRAP programme have published ‘Adapting to climate change; a guide for local councils’.

The guide has information on how our climate is expected to change, some top tips for how you could take action and 11 case studies of community action already taking place.

• Adapting to climate change; a guide for local councils

For more information please visit www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climate/action/local-authorities.htm

A vision of how Government and third sector organisations will work together over the next five years to tackle key environmental issues such as climate change and sustainable development has been set out in ‘Shaping our future’, a new report (March 2010).

• Shaping our future: the joint ministerial and third sector Task Force on climate change, the environment and sustainable development

The report is the work of the joint ministerial and Third Sector Task Force, set up in April 2009 involving ministers and officials from Defra, the Office of the Third Sector, the Department for Energy and Climate Change, the Department for Communities and Local Government and 16 third sector organisations. The task force’s secretariat was provided by the third sector through Green Alliance and NCVO in order to secure broad participation in the group’s work. The task force’s role was to find new ways to secure further commitment and action on climate change and sustainability by the four Government departments involved and the third sector, which has a vital role to play in encouraging action and securing a transition to a low carbon society.

For more information please visit www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/about/how/third-sector/index.htm