GOVERNMENT commitments to cut carbon emissions by nearly 80 per cent have been welcomed by Warwickshire bosses.
Last month, the UK Government enshrined in law a commitment to cut carbon emissions by 78 per cent by 2035, as part of its Sixth Climate Budget.
This aims to bring the UK more than three-quarters of the way to net zero by 2050, and is the most ambitious pledge from any country to reduce its carbon footprint.
This latest carbon budget will incorporate the UK’s share of international aviation and shipping emissions – an important part of the government’s decarbonisation efforts to allow these emissions to be consistently accounted for.
Warwickshire County Council’s chief executive Monica Fogarty said: “On behalf of Warwickshire County Council and all our residents around the county, we welcome the decision to commit to the ambitious carbon reduction by 2035. The amount of carbon reduction within this relatively short amount of time is reflective of the scale of the problem that we are all facing.
“Since we, as a council, declared a climate change emergency in July 2019, we have been fully committed to minimising our own carbon footprint and supporting our residents and businesses to do the same. Moving towards net zero emissions now underpins every decision that we make. Our commitment to this is undiminished, despite the covid-19 pandemic and it is a key priority of the council’s recovery plans.
“Although there is still much to do, there is already some fantastic work going on within this council and with our communities across the county to help reduce carbon emissions. As a council, we recently launched the £1 million Green Shoots Community Climate Change Fund to support projects from community and voluntary groups which aim to reduce the county’s carbon footprint and have a range of other innovative schemes, from net biodiversity to solar panel installation, that are doing the same.
“We want to ensure that Warwickshire plays its part in meeting the ambitions set out as part of the Sixth Climate Budget and we look forward to doing this alongside our residents, businesses and community groups.”
Visit www.Warwickshire.gov.uk/theclimateemergency for more information on local measures.
