Herefordshire County Council launches 2020 Climate Challenge
Can the county become carbon neutral by 2030?
Herefordshire County Council are recruiting twenty volunteers to help reduce people's carbon footprint across the county. It's part of a range of steps the council have taken to become carbon neutral by 2030.
The council declared a climate emergency on 8th March 2019. The volunteers in the new Climate Challenge Team could be anybody living in Herefordshire with an interest in tackling climate change. They will be tasked with reducing their own carbon footprint over the next year and helping others do the same.
Councillor Ellie Chowns, Cabinet Member for Environment opened the launch event at the Plough Lane Offices yesterday and says "it is in our interest",
"We've seen just over the last few weeks with the devastating flooding - that is directly linked to climate change. We know that extremes of weather, extremes like flooding are going to be more frequent going forwards. It is in our interest to stop that problem."
"By the end of 2020, we're going to have a county-wide plan for getting to zero-carbon and for maximizing nature."
Councillor Tony Johnson, Vice-chairperson of the Employment Panel says although he supports the Climate Challenge, the council must "tread carefully" to prevent losing the "good will" of people.
He says if making efforts to reduce the carbon footprint impacts people's livelihoods, they'll become discouraged.
When asked if he thinks Herefordshire could realistically become carbon neutral by 2030, he said:
"In general, I support Cllr Chowns entirely. I believe we have a moral responsibility to make sure that we keep our climate as clean as we possibly can... However, I am concerned about the wider movement of the Green Agenda."
"I think that some people in the Green Agenda have quite ridiculous aims that are frankly not achievable without dramatic changes to people's ways of life."
"If we should ever allow ourselves to get so far as to impact the way people live or in any way represent a threat to their jobs and their standards of living etc etc, then we would lose the good will of people and we need that good will if we're to do the things that Councillor Chowns is talking about."
"It can only go so far”
Louis Stark, Councillor for Ross West says, "unless suppliers change the choices for consumers, eg. packaging in supermarkets, it can only go so far”.
We asked Stephanie, the owner of a new zero-waste, zero-packaging shop in Hereford about the Council's new Challenge.
Earthing is a shop which sells food, toiletries and reusable items without any packaging. The shop also has a sustainable cafe. When asked how easy it is to sell goods in a sustainable way like this, she says "it's so hard to keep our prices low":
"Not many people are asking for these products at the moment... So if the demand increases then the suppliers will need to do something about their prices as well, and then it'll be more appealing to every customer."
We asked Stephanie if she believes Herefordshire could become carbon neutral by 2030. She says "why not?"
She says it's all about changing behavior and she encourages her customers to make small changes to their lives like buying a re-usable cup, which "makes a huge difference".
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