The Nottingham Declaration for Climate Change and the BDC/UDC joint protocol on Climate Change Action

Climate Change is the most important issue facing this country, as recognised by the Prime Minister and his scientific advisors. A lot of the action required to mitigate and adapt to change is expected to be lead by Local Authorities, as a major user of energy, supplier of energy related services and an exemplar of good practice in their respective districts. By signing the Nottingham Declaration and the joint working agreement with Uttlesford shows commitment to this issue.

Background

BDC adopted a Sustainable Energy Strategy in December 2005 and that is a precursor to a Sustainability Strategy being prepared for the Council.

In the action plan linked to our Sustainable Energy Strategy, one of the first action points, recommended by both the Energy Saving Trust (EST) and the Carbon Trust, was to sign the Nottingham Declaration for Climate Change.

Nottinghamshire County Council first published the Nottingham Declaration in 2000.  It is designed specifically for Local Authorities to enable them to show their commitment to this issue and set in place actions:

<> Work with Central Government to locally contribute to the UK Climate Change Programme, the Kyoto protocol and the 2010 Carbon dioxide reduction target

<> Participate in local and regional support networks

<> Develop plans with partners and local communities to address the causes and impacts of climate change, tailored to local priorities and community benefits

<> Publicly declare within appropriate plans and strategies, the commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the Council’s own activities

<> Assess the risks of climate change and the implications for Council services and communities and adapt accordingly

<> Encourage all sectors in the local community to adapt to the climate change impacts

<> Monitor progress and publish results

Approximately 100 Local Authorities have signed up, however none of these are from Essex. In December 2005 it was relaunched; it has been strengthened to allow options for adaption to suit local circumstances and a method for evaluation and review of the declaration.

Our participation in the EST Local Authority Sustainable Energy Pilot showed that we have remarkably similar aspirations in connection with this issue to our neighbouring authority, Uttlesford District Council, UDC, who were also on the EST scheme.  There have been talks at Member and Officer level on how the two authorities can work closer on Sustainability and Sustainable Energy Issues and this has resulted in the signing of the joint protocol..