In my time as a councillor I have had some success in using my influence to get Luton Borough Council to take climate change seriously. But I am still frustrated at how poorly it is addressing the issue. While there are examples of good practice in places, there are far too few councils, and far too few councillors, providing the level of leadership we need.

So the IDeA, the local government improvement agency, should be praised for this new initiative I came across the other day. They have extended their leadership training programme for councillors to include a Climate Change Leadership Academy session.