An action plan for Tendring District Council (TDC) to address the causes of climate change has been backed by senior councillors.
Members of TDC’s Cabinet approved the authority’s Climate Change Action Plan at its meeting today (Friday, 13 November), and the document will now go to full council for approval.
Actions within the plan include moving to an electric vehicle fleet, producing the council’s own renewable energy, planting trees and encouraging staff to work from home more.
They all contribute towards TDC’s target of being net zero carbon by 2030, an aim set when the council declared a climate emergency in August 2019.
Neil Stock OBE, TDC Leader, said the action plan is an excellent starting point.
“We have set ourselves an ambitious target, but with the range of measures in this action plan we are clearly able to achieve that goal,” Cllr Stock said.
“We are the start of a long process which will have challenges. Along the journey there maybe some difficult decisions to make in terms of finances; but the right decisions in terms of our environment.
“Through ambition and innovation we will lead the way on this, and I call on everyone to back our commitment.”
Since declaring a climate emergency a group of councillors, working with experts, has been developing ways to reduce the authority’s carbon footprint.
Its action plan, now backed by Cabinet, details measures which will cost an estimated £7.3million over the ten-year period to 2030, as well as identifying that by 2029 TDC could save almost £1m per year in energy efficiency.
One of the proposals in the action plan is to build a solar farm to provide renewable energy for the council, but this would be subject to a feasibility study and business plan.
Other measures, such as moving to an all-electric fleet, would take place over a period of time as existing council vehicles are replaced.
TDC’s CO2 emissions totalled 4,553 tonnes in 2018/19 across three ‘scopes’ – direct emissions, indirect (such as electricity supplier) and indirect (use of goods and services), and the council has committed to become net zero across the first two.
A key piece of the action plan also looks at how the council can work to reduce ‘scope three’ emissions and encourage business and residents to also play their part.