The Cumbria Strategic Partnership has developed a final strategy and series of action plans on climate change to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enable people, organisations and industry in Cumbria to adapt to unavoidable impacts of climate change. 

Current national and European policy direction is clear. On April 22 2009 the Government announced a legally binding target of 34% reduction by 2020 in alignment with an 80% reduction by 2050. This will have enormous impact on society as a whole particularly when interim targets are set. 

The Cumbrian strategy will contribute to the delivery of a number of actions in the Climate Change Action Plan for England's Northwest which focuses on reducing regional greenhouse gas emissions, adapting to the effects of climate change and developing a low carbon economy. 

The Cumbrian strategy and action plan will when implemented support Sustainable Cumbria, the Cumbrian Community Strategy, and will guide policy and action by CSP members on adapting to the unavoidable impacts of climate change and on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The draft strategy was subject to a 3 month public consultation process early in 2008 and amended as a result. In September 2008 the CSP held a 'focus on' climate change day that gave CSP members the opportunity to look at the detail of the strategy and comment on it. Many of the comments that emerged were incorporated into a separate draft action plan developed by the Climate Change Task Group.

3 consultants reports have also informed the draft action plan: the Low Carbon Lake District report; the NI 186 delivery report and third report on the economic implications for Cumbria of climate change legislation.

On March 16 2009 CSP partners signed up to the Cumbria Climate Change Commitment, binding their organisations to implement the Strategy and Action Plans