Cornwall backs council’s climate emergency plan

Cornwall Council’s cabinet has given the green light to the authority’s trailblazing plan to tackle the climate emergency and help Cornwall cut its carbon footprint.

The backing follows a climate emergency being declared by the council earlier this year and unveils its initial plans to help Cornwall strive towards becoming carbon neutral, ahead of the government’s national target of 2050.

Proposals to be developed include planting carbon-absorbing woodlands across the Duchy, powering all new homes in Cornwall with alternative energy sources under a planning shake-up and making energy efficiency improvements to existing council-owned homes.

A Forest for Cornwall, to be planted over the next 10 years, is also among the council’s first proposals. Councillors have now agreed to prioritise £1.7 million to be spent on the first phase of the Forest for Cornwall and retrofit pilot with the money coming from a £16 million fund already allocated for low carbon investments.

The council is asking the government to give greater priority to addressing the climate emergency including committing the UK to increasing its renewable electricity generation and bringing forward a ban on the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles to 2030.

Edwina Hannaford, Cornwall’s cabinet member for Climate Change and Neighbourhoods, said:  “While this report is a significant milestone in tackling the climate emergency and we are acting faster than the Government and other local authorities, we know that further planning is needed to provide a robust and evidence-based plan that wins the hearts and minds of all our residents.

“As a council, we have a leading role to play in the climate emergency and Cornwall is uniquely placed to meet this challenge to reduce our impact of global warming. Exploring future technological advances will be to key to reducing our carbon footprint so that we ensure a prosperous and sustainable Cornwall for everyone. I want to thank people in our communities who are already taking positive climate change action that we can build on together in our journey towards becoming carbon neutral.”