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Friday 19 April 2019

Climate change and East Devon: "In what way have we changed our practices to respond to our pending oblivion on this planet? The answer: not enough."

Climate change issues can't be ignored:
Futures Forum: Climate change goes mainstream

With young people in East Devon making a noise:
Futures Forum: School Strike for Climate Action > Friday 12th April

Earlier this month, the District Council declared that it wanted to do more: 

East Devon District Council aims to set more ambitious target than 2050 to become carbon neutral

At their cabinet meeting last week, the district council’s cabinet agreed to work with the county council to tackle climate change in areas where meaningful change could be made.


Daniel Clark Local Democracy Reporter
15:57, 9 APR 2019

Leader of the council, Cllr Ian Thomas said that it was good the report had stimulated a lot of positive discussion rather than being nodded through.

He said: “We do to be more aggressive in what we want to do, and if I get the chance to, I will create a responsibility to drive change to deliver carbon neutrality significantly earlier. What we do needs to be more than something that is just stuck on a shelf and people forget where we put it. There needs to be specific initiatives that are in the remit we can deliver. There is no point debating things that we have no control over whatsoever, but we need to look at what we can do. It is nice to have the Devon County Council position as a backstop, but let us treat it as just that and try and do better.”

The cabinet unanimously agreed to work with Devon County Council on a shared climate change programme but to consider setting a more ambitious date for becoming carbon neutral than Devon’s 2050 target.

East Devon District Council aims to set more ambitious target than 2050 to become carbon neutral - Devon Live
Futures Forum: Climate change: District Council to "consider setting a more ambitious date for becoming carbon neutral"

The question is how: perhaps with an energy descent plan:
Energy descent - Wikipedia
Energy Descent Action Plans - a primer - Resilience
Energy Descent Action Plan (EDAP) - Transition Town Totnes

Or a carbon neutral plan:
Bristol's 2030 carbon-neutral plan 'ambitious' - BBC News
Climate Change Summit will help put Southwark Council's carbon neutral plan in place - Southwark News
The plan to make Greater Manchester carbon neutral - what it actually means - Manchester Evening News
Copenhagen’s carbon neutral plan
Climate change plan aims to make Christchurch carbon neutral ahead of 2050 target | Stuff.co.nz

As an East Devon resident notes, the District Council has shown commitment - but needs to act on it. Courtesy of the EDW blog:

GLOBAL WARMING: A LOCAL INITIATIVE

19 APR 2019


A correspondent has sent the following email to EDDC CEO Mark Williams:

“Dear Mark,

Back in 2006 you supported me in a move to show Planners the Al Gore film “The Inconvenient Truth’ about climate change. You allowed staff a half hour of work time on top of their lunch break to enable the departments staff to watch that film. Thank you!

Tonight I was reminded of this event and your support while watching David Attenborough s documentary ‘Climate Change: the Truth’.

What is scary for me is that the film tonight was so similar to that of Gore’s almost 15 years ago. Pleasing in that Attenborough verifies all the fears that Gore postulated then with our increasingly sophisticated technology. But the reality is the same.

In what way have we changed our practices to respond to our pending oblivion on this planet. ? The answer: not enough.”


Global warming: a local initiative | East Devon Watch
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