Climate emergency to be declared in New Forest
Councillors will look at how to cut emissions in the district
A climate change and nature emergency is set to be declared for the New Forest by district councillors.
New Forest District Council's cabinet agreed to recommend the motion to full council next week at a meeting on Wednesday (October 6th)
The council's leader has said the decision is a 'clear signal' of the authority's dedication to build on climate change actions and take a 'fundamental look' at ways to reduce carbon emissions.
An 'ambitious' action plan is set to be put in place to measure annual progress across the district.
Cllr Edward Heron said:
“We have a strong track record in our sustainability and environment stewardship. We have engaged in climate change actions for many years and, through policies and activities, have made the district more resilient, reduced carbon emissions, and provided the infrastructure to enable others to make choices that reduce emissions.
“Going forward, we will be taking more actions in every area of our day-to-day activities, in our operations, our civic buildings and depots, as well as gaining a better understanding and measurement of what the issues are and what our actions are achieving.
“As well as our own actions we recognise we cannot do this alone, and we will continue to work with other local authorities and partners to tackle the impact of climate change in the area.
“We will be able to articulate in a single document what we're already doing as well as set out what we are working on collaboratively with our partners, for example the joint waste strategy, the work we're doing with the county on the local transport plan, and the ambition to be the greenest Freeport in the country.”
The move to declare the climate and nature emergency follows the local authority’s 2019 Environment Action Plan, which gave prominence to ensuring that environmental issues, including climate change, are taken into full account in decision making.
A Sustainability Advisory Member Panel will now set actions to address the climate and nature emergency and will present a report to full Council in February 2022.