“A Green Future for a Changing City" 2022 – 2030
To make Coventry the UK’s leading City for environmental change, improving the quality of life for all.
Foreword – by Cllr J. O’Boyle
In June 2019, the UK government passed legislation committing it to achieving ‘net zero’ greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This is significantly more challenging than government’s previous target to reduce net emissions by 80% compared with 1990 levels by 2050. Achieving net zero will require changes that are unprecedented in their scale and scope, including changes to the way electricity is generated, how people travel, how land is used and how buildings are heated.
Climate change, pollution and other impacts upon the environment affects us across the City, our quality of life, health and wellbeing. This Strategy is just as much about people and recognises the need to address inequities where those families from the lowest incomes facing the greatest challenges these environmental changes present with poorer air quality impacting upon the most vulnerable, rising fuel costs and inflationary rises in food prices. Our planet is facing unprecedented challenges the issues are complex and interact in ways which threaten the very support systems life is dependent upon for its survival.
Coventry City Council like all other local authorities across the world has an important leadership role to play in tackling the biggest threat to life on earth and the future of our planet. It recognised the importance of this issue well before many authorities were declaring emergencies. In 2008 the City Council was a founding signatory of the Global Covenant of Mayors which has set a target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. We are witnessing atmospheric pollution from human activities affecting not only our health but also the stability of our weather systems with dramatic climate change at a pace and scale like never before. In 2021 the Leader Cllr George Duggins signed the Declaration Covenant of Mayors interim target of achieving a 55% reduction in carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2030.
We are addressing the direct impact the City Council has on the environment and climate change and with regards to the latter we recognise that the City Council only directly accounts for about 1% of the impact across the City as a whole. It is for that reason that we facilitated the development of an independent Climate Change Board where the City Council in its leadership role representing the interests of its citizens brings together the leading stakeholders in the private, public and voluntary sectors in sharing ideas and resources to develop solutions to these difficult and complex issues affecting our City and its people. We will also engage with residents and community organisations to develop projects on the ground and encourage behavioural change.
Whilst we understand the importance of carbon emissions on climate change there are wider impacts of our activities which go beyond that which we will also need to address to create a sustainable city such as targeting waste, air and water pollution, loss of biodiversity risk of flooding and heat stress.
The sustainability and climate change agenda also provides the city with a major opportunity to become the country’s leading centre for the development of the Green Industrial revolution creating jobs and boosting the local economy in a post Covid world. Initiatives like the development of Very Light Rail for example will not only help to reduce carbon emissions by providing a comfortable hassle-free means of travel as an alternative to the private motor vehicle but it will provide jobs as we showcase a product that Cities around the world could well have an interest in. Coventry will also be the UK’s first Electric Bus City where all services across the City as a whole will be electric.
The City Council and its partners on the Independent Climate Change Board are committed to addressing the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals and to do this we have adopted the International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives’ five Development Pathways.
This Strategy focuses on these pathways as it aims to create opportunities for the whole of the City Council working in partnership with others to address this broad spectrum of issues. Our “Making it Happen” booklet illustrates Coventry’s track record for developing partnerships for innovation and addressing the issues in a positive dynamic way. Our ability to address sustainability and Climate change issues is critical to our future economic success as well as helping to address the inequalities many of our citizens face.
The following Strategy is an important part of our ‘One Coventry Plan 2022-2030’ and I would urge you to read what we have to say about the rationale behind the proposed actions and how they would help us to address the challenges we are facing over the coming years.
Help us to make Coventry the UK’s leading Sustainable City with a vibrant successful circular economy.
Cllr Jim O’Boyle
Cabinet Member
