Council launches plan for the borough to be carbon neutral by 2045

Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Cabinet has set out its plan for the borough to become carbon neutral by 2045.

At a meeting today (Wednesday, 10 February) Cabinet Members approved the Council’s Climate Emergency Response Plan which aims for the whole borough to be carbon neutral by 2045. The Cabinet also adopted its Carbon Management Plan which details how the authority will become a carbon neutral organisation by 2030.

Both reports describe how west Cheshire is one of the highest carbon-emitting areas in the UK. It also recognises the world-leading decarbonisation work going on in the borough through projects such as Net Zero North West and HyNet, focussing on reducing carbon emissions across the industrial sector.  Assets, particularly in the Ellesmere Port Industrial Area and Cheshire Science Corridor are vital to these plans and the collaboration between industry, public sector and academia is key.

The plans outline the significant changes that will be needed to the way that people live, work and travel to meet the highly challenging goals set.

These include prioritising making journeys by no-carbon options such as walking and cycling, introducing energy saving measures in homes, increasing recycling rates and buying local to help reduce transport emissions.

They have been developed following an extensive process of co-production with communities and stakeholders via the Council’s cross-party Climate Emergency Taskforce last year. The plans include actions and targets that the Council will regularly monitor in an annual review.

Councillor Matt Bryan, Cabinet Member for Housing, Planning and Climate Emergency and chair of the Climate Emergency Taskforce, said: “These plans set out a comprehensive framework for our local climate action. We have made an ambitious start to tackling this challenge but know this is not a quick fix, and that we need further investment both locally and from central Government.

“Our role as a Council and a Taskforce is to bring together the knowledge, skills and enthusiasm in our communities to enable us all to play our part in tackling the Climate Emergency, this starts with the Council setting an example and working closely with partners to deliver on the commitments in the plans. ”

Dr Simon Dowell, Science Director at Chester Zoo, said: “It’s great to see the final Climate Emergency Response Plan confirmed for the borough. It’s an ambitious plan but one that is vital to address this urgent global issue. We were delighted to host the West Cheshire Action on Climate Emergency conference last year and to be involved in delivering transformative environmental benefits for the borough. As a conservation charity we have been encouraged by the great enthusiasm and support from partners across the city and we believe that by acting together we can all make a real difference for wildlife and for the future of our planet .”

The Cabinet also committed to work with Cheshire West Voluntary Action and the Chester Sustainability Forum to support the ten Green pledges, which individuals and businesses can sign up to, to declare how they will make changes to reduce their carbon footprint.

The Climate Emergency Response Plan and Carbon Management Plan can be viewed online: www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/climateemergency