‘Scale of challenge is daunting’ – Bristol region approves new climate action plan

The Bristol region’s leaders have approved a new climate and ecological action plan after going back to the drawing board to make it more ambitious.

But a series of tough targets in the document reveals the “daunting” scale of urgent change needed, with warnings of imminent “irreversible damage”, emission levels posing a threat to life and an admission that 2030 net zero goals are currently nowhere near being achieved.

In fact one of the strategy’s main aims – getting people out of cars and onto public transport – demonstrates just how unlikely it is, with a required target of 40 per cent less car mileage by the end of the decade.

Yet only last week, city mayor Marvin Rees outlined the timetable for a proposed mass transit system and said diggers would only move into place by 2029/30.

The climate report – approved by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) committee, comprising the leaders of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath & North East Somerset councils and metro mayor Dan Norris – also says 250,000 homes and 8,000 other properties need to be retrofitted in the next eight years to meet carbon neutral ambitions.

But this will cost £5bn and needs 40,000 heat pumps installed or connections to heat networks every year, when the current annual rate for the whole of the UK is 30,000, it says.

The plan also aims not only to halt the decline of wildlife but reverse it and increase its abundance from 2020 levels by 30 per cent in a decade.

It sets out short, medium and long-term goals up to 2030 across a whole range of areas from better shelters with “green roofs” to creating 2,000 hectares of new “wildlife-rich habitat” and exploring tidal energy and hydrogen power schemes.

In July 2021, the committee scrapped the previous version of the strategy for lacking ambition, despite WECA spending two years on it.

At the latest meeting, members also voted through £10.4m for projects under the recently approved Green Recovery Fund, including £3.2m as part of a retrofit plan, £1.45m to create a community pollinator fund for more green spaces to attract bees and other insects, and £100,000 to kickstart an electric vehicle charging point rollout.

But the climate strategy said: “A shift towards electric cars will not be enough. We will need to further ramp up infrastructure improvements to walking, cycling and public transport beyond existing plans to provide alternative journey options to the private car.

“We are not on track to meet our 2030 objectives for the climate and ecological emergencies.

“Our regional emissions and the scale of damage to the natural environment are still too high and are not projected to reduce or recover quickly enough.

“If we do not take action now to change this pathway, we will continue the pattern of doing irreversible damage to the region, putting the lives and businesses of our residents at risk.

“Achieving our 2030 ambitions will require rapid and significant changes in the region. Current trends are not fast enough, and action must accelerate.”

Achieving our 2030 ambitions will require rapid and significant changes in the region – photo: Martin Booth

WECA mayor Norris said: “The scale of the challenge is daunting. It won’t be easy. In fact, it will be hard.”

He told the meeting: “This is a living document and will be amended and updated to reflect changing circumstances, new data and the best new ideas.

“If we are to meet our ambitious net zero targets, it will involve a massive effort from the combined authority, our unitary authorities, residents and businesses.

“I don’t think people have fully comprehended that, but if we are to hit that net zero 2030 target, that means year on year we have to reduce our CO2 emissions by 10 per cent. That is tough and we need to be real about that.”

He said the Government also needed to do much more and that the new plan set out “key asks” of ministers.

Bristol deputy mayor Craig Cheney told the committee: “While the strategy is not perfect, there is a need to make progress and we should see this as a living document.”

Adam Postans is a local democracy reporter for Bristol 

Main photo: Rob Browne

Read more: IPCC report: ‘An alarming warning about the repercussions of failing to act’

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