Climate change plan on target for December launch

Shropshire Council is on track to adopt its new climate change policy by the end of the year in a bid to become carbon zero by 2030.

Councillor Dean Carroll, cabinet member for climate change, said he would be presenting his climate change action plan at a meeting of the full council on December 12.

The authority declared a climate change emergency in May and since then Councillor Carroll has been working with a task and finish group and fellow councillors to find out how the authority can transform the way it works.

Several new initiatives have been brought in, including a shared car service, a cycling scheme and housing regulations.

Councillor Carroll told a meeting of cabinet: “I can confirm that we currently remain on track for adopting our climate action plan at full council in December.

“At the time of our declaration we did not set an absolute date, preferring to first analyse the current baseline and policy options in order to set an ambitious but realistic objective grounded in the data.

“We have always been clear that we want to continue to progress various key actions in ways and at times that allow for individual innovation and wider policy coherence.

“In many areas of related activity Shropshire is already performing very well.”

Councillor Carroll added that the council is currently progressing its plans to plant 345,000 trees – one for every resident in the county.

He added: “We are progressing an initiative to plant trees both on council owned land and on private land.

“Our approach is based on the principles of sustainability and balancing social, economic and environmental issues and impacts.”