Ollie Rudden
Deputy News Editor
Council sets bold target for Glasgow after a report released by the Climate Emergency Working Group.
Glasgow City Council has set a target for the city to become carbon neutral by 2030 after a decision made by the City Administration Committee.
The decision comes from a recent report made by the Climate Emergency Action Group which details 61 recommendations on plans to deal with the climate crisis.
The council earlier in May declared a climate emergency and brought forward their goal of a carbon neutral Glasgow by seven years.
It was also agreed that an implementation plan on how the council hopes to deal with the 61 recommendations is released by April 2020.The Climate Emergency Action Group was created in February and had six months to finalise a report to the council with their recommendations. Their recommendations could affect all council departments and matters relating to energy, roads and transport, infrastructure and planning, waste management and food and pensions.
The group has representation from all four political parties in Glasgow City Council, as well as representation from citizen activist groups and Glasgow Chamber of Commerce.
Councillor Anna Richardson, City Convenor for Sustainability and Carbon Reduction, praised the report believing that the “landmark decision” is a chance for Glasgow to “show leadership globally.” But Richardson also stressed how urgent it was to begin implementing the recommendations immediately and insisting “we need to get on and make it happen.”
Glasgow City Council has already set targets for decarbonisation, including targets for all council vehicles to be emission free by 2029, the introduction of a low emission zone in the city centre, a circular economy route map and multiple strategy developments on plastic reduction, electric vehicles, food growth and local transport.
