Welcome from the Chair
You may have seen in the news recently that extreme weather events - extreme heat and flooding - have become more intense and more frequent, or noticed that spring is beginning on average one month earlier. This is a result of climate change due to human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels. The UK has already warmed 1.3 deg C and is warming at a rate of 0.2 - 0.3 deg C per decade, disrupting stability of weather patterns, causing rising sea levels, ocean acidification and the breakdown of biological systems. This is a global issue that will impact us all.
Globally action is being taken. The UK Government has enshrined in law a commitment to reduce UK emissions to net zero by 2050, and in 2021 China built more offshore wind capacity than whole world in the last five years.
However, there is much we can do locally to reduce our impact and the primary focus of the group is to help parishoners take local action. Please check out or recent set of articles in the Bugle written by our members and which we hope you will find useful, alongside some hopefully useful links. This site will develop, so please do come back regularly to check on updates.
Mark Thompson
Chair
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Background
- The Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Act 2006 gave parish and town councils specific powers in relation to local energy saving measures, which will reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. Parish and town councils can promote and support community initiatives to reduce emissions.
- In 2010 Defra published “Adapting to Climate Change: A Guide for Local Councils
- In 2019 Northamptonshire County Council and Northampton Borough Council declared a climate emergency and committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
- In March 2020 SNC launched their climate change challenge to help everybody living and working in the district understand how their actions contribute to climate change.
- The UK is committed to the delivery of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed by world leaders at the United Nations in 2015 and has set out how it intends to meet these goals.
- On 12 June 2019 the Government laid the draft Climate Change Act 2008 (2050 Target Amendment) Order 2019 to amend the Climate Change Act 2008 by introducing a target for at least a 100% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (compared to 1990 levels) in the UK by 2050.
- The 2021 United Nations’ sixth report from the Independent Panel on Climate Change has declared “a code red for humanity”.
