New Forest District Council confirms action plan to tackle climate and nature emergency

AN action plan to combat the climate and nature crisis locally has been agreed by New Forest District Council.

As reported in the A&T, the council agreed to declare an emergency in 2021 after earlier pledging to make the council carbon neutral by 2050.

The action plan, now approved by the council's ruling cabinet, includes work to protect the coast, sustainable transport improvements, low carbon social housing, and support for residents to tackle climate change.

The council's cabinet member for environment and coastal services, Cllr Steve Davies, said: "Since declaring a climate change and nature emergency we have taken positive action to tackle climate action within the council and with our community.

"We now have a dedicated resource for climate action and many projects have been delivered over the last year or are in progress.

"To highlight just a few: we’ve planted hundreds of trees in the district, installed more electric vehicle charging points at our car parks, and worked with our communities to further reduce waste and recycle."

NFDC climate change manager Roxanne King added: "As well as the initiatives we have delivered over the last year we have collected extensive data around local carbon emissions.

"This has helped us to understand the best approach for the district, further actions we need to take, and how we can measure our progress.

"We will be focussing on a variety of projects under the three main areas of carbon reduction, climate adaption, and nature recovery.

"We will be looking at these areas in particular to deliver the most impact and best value for money, but we are also making sure that climate action and sustainability is considered in everything we do, and how we do it.

"With this approach, and by working with our community, we can make real long-lasting change and protect our district for future generations."

While members agreed to the action plan, Cllr Derek Tipp said he wanted to provide some "balance" and added: "A lot of organisations indulge in futile virtual signalling claiming to be saving the planet by saving some tiny amount of CO2 emissions.

"We need to be honest and admit that no amount of reduction in CO2 by this council or even the entire country will have any notable effect on CO2 levels or the climate."