23 January 2007

The Leader of Lancashire County Council, Hazel Harding, outlined far-reaching and long-term proposals to help the council and Lancashire people tackle rising temperatures caused by carbon emissions and pollution.

Such a serious threat needs bold action and Lancashire County Council’s three-year plan comes with a budget of more than £1million of new money in 2007/08, plus capital of £400,000 in each of the next two years.

Lancashire’s climate is changing: it is warmer, wetter, windier — and proof that the global problem of climate change is happening right here, in our own towns, villages, coasts and countryside.

County Councillor Hazel Harding announced the campaign this week and said: "Confronting climate change has to be a top priority for Lancashire County Council in everything we do, from the design and running of our own buildings and how we operate our front-line services, to stimulating and supporting communities to take their own local measures against global warming."

"This is an urgent problem. We cannot afford to ‘wait and see’. As a major local authority, we must take a lead in finding successful ways to combat climate change and then share our findings with others. This is just the start of our work and we will be looking to maximise other funding sources in the next few years."

"I am urging all my fellow councillors to pledge their support for this campaign and to take it into the towns and villages, schools and businesses of the county. I am convinced we can make a real difference if we share the same commitment and passion to make this work."

The campaign, which will be launched in late spring, will aim to bring a strong culture of environmental awareness to Lancashire, with the focus firmly on the effects of climate change, by harnessing world-class measures and making them work at local level.

Initiatives will include developing a Lancashire version of the much-publicised national carbon offsetting schemes, which enable individuals and businesses to ’offset’ their CO2 emissions by ploughing money back into landscape restoration and renewable energy projects.

Neighbourhoods and local communities will be encouraged to play their part with actions such as installing mini-wind turbines and solar panels on community buildings, supported by the Lancashire Local committees which will be given small climate change funds which they can use to lever in external money for local projects.

And the county council will bring partners on board — local councils, businesses, the voluntary sector and individuals — to make Lancashire among Britain’s cleanest and greenest counties.

There are also plans for a climate change summit in Lancashire, so that the best in national and international thinking from agencies at the forefront of combating climate change can be brought together.

County Councillor Tony Martin, Cabinet member for sustainable development, said: "This is an opportunity that we cannot afford to miss to make decisions which will have truly far-reaching benefits. We have already made a good start in Lancashire, through a number of efficiency savings programmes and using renewable energy."

"However, now we must build on those achievements and show that we intend to really put our own house in order, particularly in key areas such as transport, our own vehicle fleet and waste management, as well as initiating a host of measures throughout the county."

The government’s recent Stern Review, the most comprehensive review carried out on the economics of climate change to date, described the task of reducing global warming as urgent and added: "Delaying action, even by a decade or two, will take us into dangerous territory."

Councillor Harding said: "We appreciate that our action has to be swift. Only last week, roads were closed, services ground to a halt and people were injured when gale force winds battered our county — and these weather-related problems are happening more often."

"A report from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has just shown that carbon levels took a sharp increase in 2006, and our own south coast is currently awash with debris and oil from a cargo ship which foundered in the storms."

In the north west, records over the past few decades show that sea levels, rainfall and temperatures have risen, and rivers are more likely to flood.

In Lancashire, roads in the Ribble Valley had to be stabilised last summer with granite dust to prevent ’bleeding’ of carriageway surfaces in the heat, and last July Network Rail imposed speed restrictions of 20mph on trains travelling between Adlington and Chorley because of worries about rail lines buckling in the strong sunshine.

County Councillor Clive Grunshaw, Cabinet member for planning and the environment, said: "The county council has just been involved in a DEFRA consultation looking at ways to reduce carbon emissions in large organisations, such as supermarkets, universities and in local government."

"It’s our view that any measures must recognise that companies can become greener without adversely affecting their business."

"As a county council, we must also ensure that any green measures don’t place an unacceptable burden on taxpayers."

Peter Madden, Chief Executive of Forum for the Future, who was previously Head of Policy at the Environment Agency, Ministerial Adviser at Defra and DETR, and Director of Green Alliance, said:

"The County Council's decision to play a leading role in responding to climate change is really welcome. We're pleased that they are planning such innovative approaches to tackling the biggest sustainability challenge we face. Forum for the Future believes that climate change should not just be viewed as a risk. Managed properly, it also represents an opportunity to shape our communities for the better, improve quality of life and bring social, economic and environmental benefits for everyone."

Source: Lancashire County Council