Nottingham launches public consultation as it declares climate emergency

The start of a new decade has seen Nottingham City Council declare a climate emergency as it urges others to help it meet its target to be the first carbon neutral UK city by 2028.

Following the launch of the citywide charter for sustainable carbon neutrality through the Green Partnership, the Council is now setting out a plan of action to help take the city towards carbon neutrality. This takes the same aim of addressing one of our most pressing environmental and climate challenges in a way that benefits the city and residents, improves quality of life and ensures nobody is excluded from the progress it will bring.

Nottingham wants to develop and maximise the opportunities for local jobs and retain the value of what is needed to be done within the city. Efforts are focused on five key areas: transport, the built environment, energy generation, waste and water and consumption.

Building on the city’s efforts to provide high-quality green public transport and to encourage take-up of low and no-emission vehicles, the city is considering options that include exploring switching freight to electric vehicles in the city centre, introducing green number plates to identify low-emission vehicles and working with local employers to reduce the need for travel in the city through home-working and technological solutions.

A citywide consultation on the action plan will open 20 January 2020 and close on 15 March. There will be opportunity for the public to engage through an online survey or at events held across the city.

Longford said: “Nottingham City Council has responded to the climate and environmental crisis by setting an ambition to become the first carbon neutral city in the UK by 2028. At the heart of our vision is an approach that not only positively addresses wider environmental challenges, but improves quality of life and builds a new form of clean growth for our economy through a green industrial revolution.

“We all have a role to play in this, but we all have something to gain by finding more sustainable ways to live and work. Whilst we rightly celebrate the success that Nottingham has had, we know this is only the beginning. Together with city partners, we will be creating new Climate Change and Energy plans for the next decade, taking forward the ambitions of a locally responsible global city and turn words into actions. This will bring benefits such as reducing fuel poverty, improving the natural environment and air quality and providing sustainable jobs for the future.”