A draft version of the borough’s Climate Emergency Action Plan was presented to Cabinet on 21 January 2020.
Councillors unanimously approved further consultation and engagement on the council’s draft plan, prepared in response to Hounslow’s declaration of a Climate Emergency last year.
In June 2019, Hounslow Council joined other local authorities, the Mayor of London and the UK Parliament in declaring a climate emergency that requires urgent action. The council also committed to reviewing existing arrangements to reduce the council’s carbon footprint and to identify measures towards making the council’s activities carbon neutral and ultimately zero-carbon within the shortest achievable timeframe.
Following the declaration, a specialist consultancy, Eunomia Research and Consultancy Ltd were engaged to review the council’s current work in reducing its carbon emissions to net zero by 2030 alongside using such influence as it has to reduce wider emissions from across the borough as quickly as possible and to support the development of a local response to the declaration of a climate emergency. As part of that process, engagement activities were undertaken with council staff, councillors and the community to help understand local priorities and opportunities.
The large number of ideas for action that followed have been incorporated into a draft Climate Emergency Action Plan. The draft Plan outlines seven key programmes for reducing council direct carbon emissions.
These are:
- Energy efficiency
- Renewable energy
- Electrify vehicle fleet
- Reducing employee transport
- Waste management
- Culture change and governance
- Sustainable investment and funding
In addition, in recognition of the council’s community leadership role, Hounslow will work across the borough with its strategic partners, businesses and the community to deliver a wider programme tackling all emissions attributed to activities in the borough.
These programmes are:
- Retrofit Hounslow and deliver zero carbon housing
- Sustainable travel promotion
- A transition to electric mobility
- Greening the borough
- Develop net zero lifestyles
- Stimulate the local green economy
Both the council’s and the borough-wide programmes are outlined in the draft Climate Emergency Action Plan. Each programme contains a number of actions that will be developed and implemented in order to deliver a reduction in carbon emissions. The actions will be delivered over ten years, split into three phases of action.
Hounslow Council is running a public consultation on the draft Climate Emergency Action Plan, aiming to seek feedback from residents and stakeholders on whether the council has developed the right programmes and identified suitable actions which will enable them to reduce not only emissions from the borough’s corporate estate, but also influence a reduction in borough-wide emissions. The consultation is live until the 30 March 2020. To review the draft Climate Emergency Action Plan and to participate in the consultation please click HERE.
