LICHFIELD District Council remains fully committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions, a cabinet member has said.
The local authority has previously declared a climate emergency in a bid to focus attention on the issue.
But Cllr Rosie Harvey-Coggins, Labour representative for the St John’s ward, has questioned whether recent cabinet changes will keep the environment high on the council’s agenda.
In a written question, she said:
“Can I ask for assurances for the residents of Lichfield District that this council’s commitment to the climate change emergency and its work toward achieving net zero carbon emissions remains a priority – and that the Climate Summit, planned for later this year in the cathedral, is delivered with measurable outcomes and commitment to this important issue.”
Cllr Rosie Harvey-Coggins
Cllr Janice Silvester-Hall, who has taken on the visitor economy, ecology and climate change portfolio, said:
“The council remains fully committed to the climate change emergency and achieving net zero carbon emissions.
“Becoming the greenest district in the country is one of the four key priorities in our Lichfield District 2050 Strategy. It includes a series of key climate milestones and actions, including, restoring and increasing the district’s biodiversity, increasing the scope and capacity of our recycling services and improving our green infrastructure.
“Key to our commitment is our revised organisational Carbon Reduction Plan that I am taking the opportunity to review. This will be launched in the next month along with the new public version of our carbon dashboard, which we have developed to enable us to understand our baseline position from 2021 so that we can continue to make improvements and effectively monitor our progress.”
Cllr Janice Silvester Hall
Cllr Silvester-Hall said that the proposed cathedral event would go ahead but that the timescale had now moved.
“The climate summit is still scheduled to take place and aims to engage both residents and businesses significantly.
“However, we are now recommending that we reschedule the summit to late spring/summer 2025. This decision follows research into a number of similar events and campaigns which highlighted that attendees often consisted of existing climate change advocates.
“To inspire a wider audience, including children and families who can drive behavioural changes at home, we are planning to have a series of engagements including work in schools and smaller events across the district throughout autumn, winter and spring.
“The summit we then hold will be the culmination of months of engagement, ideas and collaboration, providing the event with substantial content to further build on.”
Cllr Janice Silvester-Hall
