Sheffield Green Party Councillors have called for more action on climate change following a report that shows there has only been a 3% reduction in carbon emissions in the city since 2019. (1)
The Pathways to Decarbonisation report, commissioned by the Council, had indicated that it was possible to achieve an 85% reduction in emissions by 2030 (2). A report by the Tyndall Centre in 2019 said that the Council needed to achieve carbon reductions of 14% per year if it was to have any chance of being zero carbon by 2030. (3)
City Ward Councillor Martin Phipps said,
“Green involvement in the Council Administration has been central to the climate action the Council has taken: from introducing Climate Impact Assessments, to the creation of the Ten Point Plan for Climate Action (4), to ensuring major schemes like Connecting Sheffield and the Clean Air Zone progress in the face of political opposition, but people in Sheffield need to see more action across the Council if it is to play its part in achieving a stable climate.
“We need to take more action to improve public transport, improve the energy efficiency of homes and to invest in Green skills for the jobs of the future. As well as the actions that can be taken locally, we need Government to rise to the challenge of global climate change, in the way they addressed the banking crisis and the Covid pandemic
“Keir Starmer’s refusal to ‘turn on the spending taps’ and Rachel Reeves’s comments on Labour’s commitment to fiscal rules over climate action have made it clear that whether the Conservatives or Labour receive a majority from the next general election, pressure on council budgets will continue. Therefore as a council we need to be focused on what we can do locally.”
Gleadless Valley Green Cllr Paul Turpin says,
“More could be done by the Council and the South Yorkshire Mayor to invest in the Green jobs and skills that will provide secure employment for local people for years to come.
“The Council has allocated £3.5 million to invest in local renewable energy projects. We need to see how this will be implemented to provide Sheffield with secure and stable energy prices.
“Sheffield City Council could raise funds by establishing Green Bonds to lever in finance from the community. West Berkshire Council raised over £1 million on its first Green Bonds issues. This helped improve the energy performance of schools by installing solar panels and supported active travel and tree planting projects. (5)
“The council could have an advertising policy which does not support high carbon industries and products harmful to people and nature.
Hillsborough Cllr Christine Gilligan-Kubo, Deputy Chair of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Committee said,
“We could implement a workplace parking levy to leverage funding for active and public transport at comparable levels to Nottingham City Council, who raised around £680 million over 10 years; (6)
Brian Holmshaw, Green councillor for Broomhill and Sharrow Vale, said,
“The Green Party believes that all Policy Committees on the Council should have action plans to deliver targets to reduce their emissions and should report any increases. We need to be committed and relentless in our action to address climate change. Not only will this mean we have a clean and stable environment, it will also mean warm homes, secure jobs and cleaner air.”
References
- annual_climate_action_report_2022-23_executive_summary.pdf (sheffield.gov.uk)
- Pathways to Zero Carbon in Sheffield – Arup
- Tyndall Centre – Sheffield Report – Draft.pdf
- PowerPoint Presentation (sheffield.gov.uk)
- West Berkshire Community Municipal Investment (CMI) – West Berkshire Council
- Ten years on: Nottingham’s Workplace Parking Levy keeps the city moving ahead – Transport Nottingham
