East Cambridgeshire District Council has joined over 200 Councils around the UK in declaring a Climate Emergency.

The council took the decision at last week’s Full Council meeting (Thursday 17 October), following the submission of a petition signed by local residents.

Cllr Anna Bailey, leader of the Council said: “We welcomed the petition and thank residents for calling for action. Having listened carefully to the details of the petition, we acknowledge that the Council has a significant role to play in protecting and improving the environment for future generations and so we made the decision to amend our own climate change motion to formally declare a climate emergency.”

“We are proud of the work we already do as a Council to reduce our impact on the environment and we welcome the opportunity to join over 200 other Councils across the UK who are also working to fight climate change. On behalf of our residents, we as a Council will be taking the appropriate actions.

The most ambitious piece of work already underway by the Council is the development of a joint bid with Cambridgeshire County Council to Innovate UK to design an energy system to deliver net zero carbon emissions from energy use in East Cambridgeshire by 2050; the project focuses on shifting transport, gas and oil use to electricity and to grow the electricity network to cater for the change. 

Officers will now work on a strategy and action plan which will build on the plethora of initiatives already in place across the District. The strategy and action plan will include specific and measurable targets to combat climate change and will be considered by the Operational Services Committee in six months.

Initiatives to which the Council committed at the meeting include launching and publicising an online ‘Ideas Forum’ for residents to submit their ideas for consideration on how the Council can tackle climate change.

The agenda for the Full Council meeting, which includes the motion on climate change and initiatives to which the Council will commit can be found here:

https://www.eastcambs.gov.uk/sites/default/files/agendas/171019%20Agenda.pdf