+44 1865 259200
The challenge
Ealing Council declared a climate emergency in April 2019 and set a target of 2030 to reach carbon neutrality for the Council and borough. The target covers all carbon emissions, both produced and consumed, by everyone in the borough. Ealing Council adopted the Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy (CEES) in 2021 and a two-year action plan was created for 2023-2025 which outlined key activities to push towards the 2030 target.
The solution
To aid with the prioritisation and delivery of these decarbonisation actions, Ealing Council commissioned Aether to estimate the implementation costs and wider benefits of the actions and to develop a tool to enable Council officers to refine and update the analysis as new information becomes available. This was developed through a multi-criteria assessment of the CEES actions.
This involved:
- Stakeholder engagement to realise a political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental (PESTLE) analysis to understand the broader influences and success determinators of the actions
- Estimating capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX) of the actions, including staff time for the Council, asset purchases, external resources
- Analysing wider social, economic and environmental impacts of the actions beyond decarbonisation, aligned with the 9 priorities identified in Ealing’s Council Plan
- Qualitative assessment of the GHG emissions impacts of the actions
The analysis was developed in a Climate Impact Action Tool in Excel that the Council can use independently to view and refine the multi-criteria assessment in the future. This includes graphic viewers of the results across actions and detailed dives for specific actions.
A gap analysis of climate actions for the decarbonisation of Ealing was performed to help identify opportunities for further ambition and GHG emissions reductions.
The result
Ealing Council has a user-friendly multi-criteria assessment tool established to aid with the prioritisation and analysis of Ealing’s policies under the Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy. The tool can be used to update analysis as more data is collected. The next steps for Ealing will be to review the impact scores of their actions, consider further actions that could be drafted, and to make demands of Central Government to enable the significant changes that are required to meet the challenges of reaching net zero carbon.
Kathryn Hampshire
Principal Consultant
Related case studies
Ealing Council Climate Action Plan Multi-Criteria Analysis
Category: Cities and Local Authorities, Policies and Measures
Aether developed a multi-criteria analysis of Ealing Council’s Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy (CEES) to support the Council with prioritisation and delivery of climate actions to reach their 2030 target of carbon neutrality.
Read case studySurrey Air Quality for Schools Programme
Category: Cities and Local Authorities
Aether, in partnership with London Sustainability Exchange (LSx), Surrey Air Alliance and Surrey County Council, has helped to create and implement a Cleaner Air for Schools Programme in Surrey.
Read case studyLuton Council Net Zero Roadmap and Climate Policy and Action Plan
Category: Cities and Local Authorities
Aether, alongside SE2 and associate Joanne Wade, developed a Net Zero Roadmap and Climate Policy and Action Plan to support the council in its vision of a net zero town by 2040.
Read case studyNews
Latest news
Posted on: 13 January 2026
Devolved Governments Air Pollutant Emissions Inventories
The air pollutant emissions inventories for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland were published in September 2025. The data covers the period 2005 to 2023, for the pollutants ammonia, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, non-methane volatile organic compounds, PM10, PM2.5, sulphur dioxide, and lead. In addition, experimental inventory statistics are presented for emissions of benzo[a]pyrene, dioxins and furans, and mercury.
Read full storyPosted on: 11 December 2025
Aether provided training to strengthen Government of Jersey’s climate policy modelling capacity
Aether completed a project for to train staff in Government of Jersey in using Aether's Carbon Scenario Model to quantify the carbon impacts of net zero policies. The model is a key tool for the Government of Jersey for informing policy decisions on climate actions, and other related policies.
Read full storyPosted on: 6 October 2025
Aether Experts Contribute to IPCC Report on Short-Lived Climate Forcers
In the first week of October Richard Claxton and Sergii Shmarin were in Istanbul, contributing as lead authors to the upcoming IPCC Methodology Report on Short-Lived Climate Forcers (SLCFs). SLCFs - such as black carbon, and other ozone precursors play a critical role in climate change and air quality. The new methodology report will provide essential guidance for countries to improve their emissions inventories and strengthen climate action.
Read full storyPosted on: 1 September 2025
Six new project wins for the land development services team
Aether has recently expanded its Land Development services and secured six new commissions with one of the UK’s top 14 house builders. These projects span from comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessments for large-scale residential developments to focused sustainability, energy, and air quality reports for smaller schemes.
Read full storyFilter news by category
Aether Blog Air Pollution Air Quality Assessments Barriers to Net Zero Capacity Building Carbon Footprint Climate Emergency Climate Equality Climate Finance Consumption COP28 Culture Data Visualisation Economic Status Emissions Reporting European Topic Centre GHG Infrastructure Inventories Local Government Mitigation MRV National Government Net Zero Oxfam Paris Agreement Policy Recruitment Society Stakeholder Engagement Waste Sector Wider Impacts
Testimonial
