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• Coventry's Climate Change Strategy

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• Coventry's Climate Change Strategy

Climate Change Strategy

The City Council is committed to tackling climate change and to making a major contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions for the city. Recognising the challenge we all face, and the action that we need to take for the well being of the city now and in the future, the Council is co-ordinating the development of the Climate Change Strategy in close consultation with the Coventry Partnership.

This strategy is intended to reflect both the Council’s leadership role in the city, and our ability to work together as a community, engaging with all citizens and sectors.

Our earlier initiatives: Nottingham Declaration

Coventry became a signatory to the Nottingham Declaration in October 2006, committing the Council in its primary role as community leader to work in partnership across the city to tackle the causes and effects of climate change. The City Council has also incorporated a commitment to tackle climate change in its revised corporate objectives (June 2006).

Our signed copy of the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change can be viewed here. Follow this link to find out more about the Nottingham Declaration (link to external website).

The draft Climate Change Strategy

The structure of this strategy is based upon the two principal areas in need of attention – mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation - tackling the causes of climate change and Adaptation - preparing for the impacts.

Proposed Targets:

• The draft strategy includes a headline target for the city to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 67 percent by the year 2050, using 2003 as the baseline year.
• An interim target of a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 35 - 40 percent by the year 2025 is also proposed.

City-wide action:

The draft strategy proposes actions for the wider community, structured within a themed approach while the City Council's proposed corporate actions are broadly divided into strategic and operational activities. The six themes broadly covering the major issues and fitting into the theme groups within the Coventry Partnership are listed as follows: 

Theme 1: Putting people first

This deals with the issue of peoples' vulnerability to climate change and how preparations must be made to address such issues as the effect of heatwaves, urban heat island, flooding and others.

Theme 2: Where we live

This deals with planning, land use and housing and covers how we need to change our use of buildings and ensure that future development is climate-proofed.

Theme 3: Making a Difference

The key roles of education and training in helping people to move to a low carbon way of living are addressed by this package of actions along with how business and industry are skilled up to tackle climate change. 

Theme 4: Fit for the Future

The measures within this theme will allow pragmatic and effective steps to be taken to ensure people's health and well-being are not adversely affected particularly during acute events such as heatwaves, new and varied disease vectors and the effects of sun.

Theme 5: Gearing Up

Given the large contribution of the transport sector to climate change, how we get around and the infrastructure we need to do this are some of the largest issues we need to address in reducing our carbon footprint.

Theme 6: Towards a sustainable city

In addressing climate change it becomes clear that the whole sustainability agenda needs to be considered in order to provide holistic and informed choices.

Further information and the detailed draft Climate Change Strategy for Coventry  is available here for download.

Current consultation - tell us what you think

The Council has so far led on the co-ordination of the draft strategy, but it is a document for the city and depends upon input and debate from partners across all sectors. Our aim is to have maximum participation from the public and involve and enthuse them to contribute in tackling the issue.

We encourage you to participate in the consultation process and send your views to us.

The document that is currently open for consultation (until 31 December 2007) is:

Draft Climate Change Strategy for Coventry

You can let us have your views by:

• Using our online consultation form, or
• Responding to the questions at the end of the document (on Page 36), or
• Sending comments to us at the address given below.

What happens next?

All comments received during the consultation process will be considered and used to inform the next stage. The intention is that the Council and its partners will agree to the overall strategy, with a range of effective actions being agreed, developed and delivered on an annual basis.

A document showing the proposed process (pdf) is available here.

Contact details

Downloadable documents