RESIDENTS, businesses and organisations in Reading are being urged to triple their efforts to tackle climate change, on the three year anniversary of the council declaring a climate emergency.
On February 26, 2019, Reading Borough Council pledged to join the international effort to slow down climate change.
Cllr Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s leaf for strategic environment, planning and transport, said that the council has made good progress in three years.
“We are heading in the right direction — but not fast enough,” he said. “There is a lot more work planned for us to do at the council and with others to achieve a net zero carbon Reading by 2030, and we need the Government’s help to get there.”
Cllr Page said that within six years, the council’s vehicle fleet will be all electric, and more investment will be made into renewable energy projects.
In November last year, the council launched the first fully electric waste collection vehicle in Berkshire. It collects from 1,400 houses daily and drives 8,000 miles a year with no tailpipe emissions — saving 32,200kg of greenhouse gas emissions each year compared to a diesel equivalent.
Cllr Page said: “We recognise the importance of the council leading by example and action speaks louder than words so we also have taken steps to drastically cut our own carbon footprint, reducing our emissions as a council by 69.8% since 2008/09.”
Cllr Page said that the recent budget announcement also includes “ambitious plans” for low carbon investment.
“The rate at which Reading borough as a whole cuts emissions will need to double for the town to achieve the ambitious goal of net zero by 2030, in eight years time,” he added.
“It is sobering to note that the council is responsible for less than 1.5% of Reading’s carbon footprint.
“There is little doubt we are headed in the right direction, but the question remains is it fast enough and is central Government investing enough into helping residents, businesses and organisations make the changes they need to?”
Cllr Page said that continued and sustained effort will be needed to reach the target.
“This is a huge challenge which will require buy-in from every single business, organisation and individual in Reading,” he said.
Tracey Rawling Church, co-chair of the Reading Climate Change Partnership agreed that there was a “great deal to do” to meet the net zero target by 2030.
“Decarbonisation of an entire town is a joint endeavour and can only be achieved through collaboration,” she said. “We’re delighted that we have been able to build effective partnerships with numerous influential groups representing businesses and communities and will continue to focus on increasing these links to get everybody in the town working towards a shared goal of building a better place for everybody who lives, works or studies here.”
Ms Rawling Church said that the recent formation of the Net Zero Task Force by the Local Enterprise Partnership will also promote collaboration among Local Authorities.
Professor Tim Dixon, co-chair of the Reading Climate Change Partnership alongside Ms Rawling Church, said that he is keen to develop further innovative projects to tackle issues such as air quality, energy demand and mobility.
He said: “As part of our mission to improve outreach and engagement we are also developing several exciting new projects which we hope will bring a greater awareness of climate change to people and businesses across Reading, as well as our schools and colleges.
“A big part of our mission has also been to help increase the diversity and depth of expertise and insight in our partnership board, drawing on industry, the voluntary sector, NHS and the Youth Parliament.”
