How green is our area?

A first start is for a council to meet and agree that it needs to take action about the climate emergency and declare a commitment to take action. It does not have to agree that it is an emergency, but it should at least agree to make progress to deal with the issues.

It is usual to establish a clear target by which a council expects to achieve net zero. The Shropshire Council has set a target of 2030, and we have done the same.

It is a good idea to set up a group of people who have the responsibility for reviewing the areas which need to be tackled and then creating recommendations for action to be taken.

To progress the issues with respect to climate change, it is important to meet at least monthly and undertake work in the meantime.

We believe that simple action could be to start installing LED lights to replace current streetlamps and put in solar panels and wind power to support energy generation. Thus, the council can act on its own infrastructure to reduce dependence on gas and oil.

There are several energy providers who can provide renewable energy based on renewables like wind, solar or nuclear. So another simple action is to switch suppliers.

A local council should provide guidance to householders, businesses, farmers etc. on how to get renewable infrastructure like solar panels, air source heat pumps, and how to source renewable energy. They can also get involved in community projects like creating solar farms, wind power or district heating networks to source electricity and heating.

If the community is well developed in terms of action against the climate emergency, then around 80 % or more will have installed the right infrastructure to support non-fossil fuel energy sources, or have contracts with suppliers of renewable energy.

As part of the programme a council should review the buildings in its asset register and ensure they are built to ensure minimal loss of heat and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

It is useful if a council provides information on what insulation standards are required, and what should be included in buildings to help prevent leakage of heat into the atmosphere.

In each area, there will be homes which have not been properly insulated because they were built several years ago. Hence there needs to be a retrofitting programme to make sure those homes are brought up to standard.

Where councils provide planning permission, they can insist that new buildings are built to include solar panels, EV charging points, air source heat pumps and so on. It will make sense if these features are included now to ensure that in the longer term they are fit for purpose.

Under the heading of travel, we should be cycling or using electric vehicles. Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers can be built on council properties as appropriate for council or public use.

As part of developing an effective travel system, then the local community needs access to good bike lanes, and EV chargers across the community to support the use of electric cars.

To encourage people to use local transport there is a need to ensure people can use trains easily, and travel locally using a community bus service.

Travel should be based around the minimal use of fossil fuel-driven forms of transport. Hence cycling is good for shorter journeys. Public transport should help those that need it, and be readily available, with a community bus being available (shared if necessary, across councils). People should minimise the use of aircraft travel.

We need to change our diet to one largely based on vegetables and minimise those foods that carry a high carbon footprint. In Shropshire there are many dairy farmers, so we should be encouraging them to adapt, and we should source foods locally from markets and local shops that source locally.

It is good to encourage people to grow their own food in either allotments or their own gardens. Hence existing allotments could be supported, or new allotments built as necessary. Advice given could support people with information on how to grow their own food.

It seems important that councillors set an example in the foods that they eat, and encourage greater use of plant-based diets.

It should be possible to establish that most people in an area have altered their diet through surveys, or discussions with local residents.

We should recycle and reuse as much as possible of what we buy. Sending things to landfill only creates Methane. This should cover electronics, clothes, food items, and all household goods.

We can all recycle items which go to the local recycling facilities. However, often people have nowhere to recycle clothes or electronic items and so on, or indeed provide a way of letting other people use or buy - for instance - old clothes. So it would be good to have a central place where this can be enabled.

Many parishes and districts have recognised the value of a repair cafe, to which people can bring anything to be repaired - like kettles, or bikes or anything! It is also a good social focus for the community.

A district which has a well-developed infrastructure would include local recycling areas, repair cafes and shops to help repurpose, recycle, and reuse items that we all buy for homes and businesses - whether it is kettles, clothes or washing machines.

There are around 11,000 businesses in Shropshire, 95 % of whom are less than 5 employees in size. They will all struggle to understand how to take action around climate change. Hence it is vital that councils actively help them understand through a programme of education, communication and support on what they can do to become carbon neutral.

It would be great if there was a grouping in which local businesses could get together to share best practices.

The areas they should tackle are energy supply, heating and lighting equipment and operation, design of products to minimise carbon emissions, and insulation/protection of buildings. They should also develop EV charging points and minimise flights to make business travel eco-friendly. They should also encourage employees to become carbon neutral.

Technically the carbon emitted by suppliers is not "within the scope" of carbon reduction activities - they are technically known as "Scope 3".  A standard definition of Scope 1,2 and 3 is summarised in the following explanation:

Scope 1 = All direct emissions from an organisation’s activities e.g. emissions from fleet vehicles and boilers 

Scope 2 = Indirect emissions from electricity and oil purchased and used 

Scope 3 = All other indirect emissions e.g. supply chain emissions, business travel, procurement, waste, water 

The local council should provide guidance on their website or leaflets which explain the importance to a community of the protection of species. Thus, if bees are eliminated as a species, we will lose food, which is vital to our survival. Also, trees and hedgerows play an essential part in absorbing Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere. This helps in making us carbon neutral. In Shropshire peat bogs are a key store of carbon dioxide, so we should stop using them for compost.

Businesses including farmers are vital people within a community who can make a difference in ensuring best practices in the countryside and how they manage their impact on flowers, insects, trees, and hedgerows. It is important that the council establishes actions within this community to achieve carbon neutrality.

Planting trees will help in absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere. It will take a long time before this takes real effect. But it is a useful activity to engage the community, and eventually, make a difference in the concept of achieving net zero.

Through local discussion or a survey discover if there is a general adherence to good green practices in the community.

Much of the conversation around climate change belongs to adults. However, it is vital that children and young adults understand how they should develop carbon-neutral lifestyles, from food to travel to managing households. This can be done through schools and local youth activities.

It would be great if all of the local schools and colleges had a regular course or training on climate change either on its own as a subject, or as part of another subject - e.g. geography

It would be great if there was a local group that met on a regular basis in some forum as young people to discuss climate change and how they can influence the actions people take, or to take actions themselves

It would be good to find that the local youth make a real difference in the development of the actions around climate change in their community

Around 10 % of the council should undertake Carbon Literacy training, which can be provided by Save Our Shropshire CIO. This will enable learners to find out more, and in particular, create pledges on what they will do after the course.

Once some councillors and/or the clerk have received their training from a Carbon Literacy training provider, then they should deliver training to other councillors which lasts a minimum of eight hours to ensure that they all are on an equal level of understanding of the impacts of climate change and give them a clear sense of what needs to be done. It is proven that less than eight hours does not provide sufficient knowledge for people to take appropriate action.

In order to get a critical mass of people to realise what needs to be done, and to change their behaviour, around 15 % of the local population should get to understand the detail behind the challenges we face, and then the actions we need to take, as well as make their pledges.

To make sure that a whole community understands what needs to be done, it is important to have a critical mass understanding of the issues that we all face and the actions we need to make. The total to aim for at least 30 % to get Carbon Literacy certification.