EY - Rural Resilience - Challenges and opportunities of the green transition

This report from EY, developed with evidence and case studies from County Councils Network (CCN) member councils, sets out the opportunities and challenges rural areas face in the green transition.

It argues that county and rural authorities are essential to achieving the UK’s net zero ambitions, given their significant share of national emissions, natural capital assets and economic importance. However, the report warns that rural areas have been consistently overlooked in national policy and under‑resourced in comparison with urban areas, despite facing some of the most complex decarbonisation challenges.

The report highlights that CCN member areas are uniquely positioned to drive clean energy generation, decarbonise transport and agriculture, and unlock new green jobs. Yet rural councils face structural barriers: fragmented national policy, limited funding, capacity constraints, and regulatory systems designed around urban areas.  

The report sets out a number of recommendations, including:

• Embed whole‑systems, place‑based net‑zero planning across CCN member authorities.
  
  
• Ground climate action in strong business cases that show economic and social returns.
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• Strengthen collaboration across councils, regions, and communities.

For government:

• provide coherent strategy, local empowerment, reformed long‑term funding, and mechanisms for scaling collaboration.