Read our Climate Strategy and Action Plan

Use this page to learn about our Climate Emergency Strategy and Action Plan.

In 2019 the council declared a Climate Emergency. Tackling the Climate Emergency means creating a different vision for all parts of Bath and North East Somerset, including the World Heritage Site of Bath itself. The council is committed to providing the leadership to enable this scale of ambition to be realised and recognises that this requires a significant and fundamental shift within all sectors of the community. We hope that residents, communities, organisations, and businesses join us in working towards this ambition.

 

Climate action taken since declaring a Climate Emergency

We have taken the following actions to build on our efforts since declaring a Climate Emergency:

• We have created a new dedicated Climate Emergency cabinet role and a Climate Emergency and Sustainability Policy, Development and Scrutiny Panel.
• We have made tackling the Climate and Ecological Emergencies one of our two core policies, alongside giving people a bigger say, which will shape everything we do. The three priorities for action have been built into our Corporate Strategy and are reflected in our key principles and commitments.
• We have embedded the Climate Emergency into our budget planning.
• We have established a new Public Services Climate Emergency workgroup (which includes both universities, the RUH, Avon Fire & Rescue and Wessex Water) that will become part of a new district-wide partnership structure.
• We have created a toolkit to help Parish Councils respond to the Climate Emergency, several of whom have also declared a Climate Emergency; Freshford Parish Council, Keynsham Town Council, Timsbury Parish Council, Compton Martin Parish Council, Chew Magna Parish Council, East Harptree Parish Council and Radstock Town Council. We will be supporting parishes to define and implement community initiatives.
• We have supported the development of the B&NES Schools’ Climate Emergency Network. It was launched in December 2019 and attended by representatives from more than half of the schools within B&NES.
• We received ‘pro bono’ analysis from the University of Bath on how to use citizens’ assemblies or juries to inform action planning.
• We have signed up to Carbon Disclosure Project, a global platform for cities to measure, manage and disclose environmental data annually.
• Publication of the Climate Emergency Strategy.
• We ran the Climate and Biodiversity Festival for two years (2021-2022), bringing community action together across Bath and North East Somerset.
• We have become the first council in England to successfully adopt an Climate and Biodiversity Festival for two years (2021-2022), bringing community action together across Bath and North East Somerset.
• We have become the first council in England to successfully adopt an energy-based net zero housing policy in our local plan