Council Launches Climate Action Plan

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Including £5million to help council reach its 2030 target

An ambitious action plan designed to tackle climate change has been published today by Wandsworth Council.

The plan sets out a number of key themes as to how the council can help play its part, along with the local community, in the fight against climate change. These include energy efficiency, air quality, water management, urban greening and open spaces, planning and sustainable development, waste management, and sustainable transport.

It follows a pledge made by Wandsworth Council last year where it declared a climate emergency, setting the targets to become a carbon neutral organisation by 2030, zero carbon by 2050 and the greenest inner-London borough.

Amongst the key actions in today's plan are proposals to increase tree planting in the borough, purchase 100 per cent renewable electricity, as well as launching a comprehensive training programme for staff on carbon literacy.

Councillor Rory O'Broin, cabinet member for finance and corporate resources, is leading the climate change work in Wandsworth. He said: “Action on climate change is a priority for this council and this action plan sets out what we plan to do to reduce our carbon emissions and support the reduction of emissions in the borough.

“I am particularly enthusiastic about our proposal to allocate £5million to projects which support the achievement of the council's 2030 target.”

Whilst outlining these key commitments, the council also acknowledges that the action plan is only the starting point.

Through real engagement with community groups, residents and businesses and by securing additional dedicated resources, the council will build on this plan with further actions developed and delivered over the next ten years.

Cllr O'Broin said: “We can't do this alone and collaboration with the people who live and work in the borough is absolutely essential for our climate change aspirations to be a success.

“We all have a responsibility when it comes to climate change, and the council is fully committed to working with residents, communities and businesses in partnership to ensure we co-produce and continuously improve our actions to address this emergency.

“We particularly want to work with young people – giving them a real voice in the work that we are doing – as ultimately they will be inheriting the legacy of what we are trying to achieve.”

He added: “We know the importance of this undertaking and want to embrace partnerships and collaboration. The council working alone will never have all the answers.”

The action plan will be considered by Finance and Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee (FCROS) on January 23 and if approved will then go before the Council's Executive on January 27.

The full action plan has been published and can be viewed online.

January 16, 2020