Action on Climate Change
We are in the midst of a climate emergency, the catastrophic effects of which we can only mitigate if we all take immediate action to reduce individual carbon emissions and those of our communities.
All of the candidates standing in this election will CLAIM that they are interested in climate change, but talk is cheap, and few of them will be able to demonstrate any real progress towards reducing the impact of local carbon emissions.
If elected as your County Councillor, I promise to put climate change at the centre of all of the decisions that I make. Not only is that the right thing to do for the whole planet, but it is important that we take a position of moral leadership that will encourage others to take their own actions.
1. St Neots Town Council Declares a Climate Emergency
In March 2019, St Neots Town Council voted to declare a climate emergency, becoming one of the first councils in Cambridgeshire to fully recognise the seriousness of the situation. This decision had three immediate consequences:
- that we would put climate change at the centre of all the decisions that the council subsequently took
- that we would commit to reducing our the carbon footprint of the council to zero before 2030
- that we would establish a working group to examine the wider issue of carbon reduction in St Neots.
Cllr Christine Green, Cllr Paul Davies, and myself formed that working group (along with residents) and have worked together for two years to achieve its goals.
2. Town Council Net Zero by 2030
Working together with local sustainability consultancy Energise, our working group has put together a plan of action for St Neots Town Council to reduce our emissions to net zero before 2030. We have already begun to act on this, but replacing some of our diesel vehicles with electric alternatives, and installing solar panels on the roof of one of our community centres (as well as implementing a raft of other actions).
3. Community Energy Project
Together with resident Mr Phil Sandell, the Zero Carbon Working group investigated the possibility of establishing a low-carbon community energy scheme, to provide low-cost electricity to the wider Huntingdonshire area. This led to the formation of Waterside Green Energy, a community interest co-operative who are currently investigating the installation of a water turbine on the River Great Ouse. As a founding member of WGE, I’ve been heavily involved in progressing those plans to their current stage, in which we are commissioning a feasibility study into the water turbine.
4. 600 Trees Planted
Of course, reducing emissions alone is not enough. The Zero Carbon Working Group decided to start our mitigation effort immediately, by agreeing to plant 1000 new trees in the town. Although this effort was postponed by the pandemic, working together with Grow Wild St Neots, we have already planted 600 saplings on Town Council land, including establishing a new wooded area close to the Willow Bridge.
5. A Pathway to Net Zero for Residents and Businesses
I am a founder member of the community NEOT Zero initiative to provide a pathway for residents and businesses to achieve net-zero by 2030. In my time as a councillor, I have constantly experienced untapped enthusiasm from residents who are desperate to play their own part in fighting against a climate emergency but are frustrated because they do not know how to help. Backed by local sustainability consultancy Energise, Neot Zero aims at providing a set of achievable steps that residents and businesses can use to reduce their own impact.
