‘We can support Bristol to live in a healthy and ecologically rich city’

Climate, ecology, energy and waste – where to start?

After a few weeks in the job it’s become clear to me you can start anywhere in my portfolio and all routes pretty much lead back to the same place: leading our city to be healthier than how we found it.

Be that supporting Bristol to deliver against our climate and ecological goals over the next decade or monthly #CleanStreets or tackling our commercial waste challenges.

This stuff matters and delivering across climate, ecology, energy and waste addresses some major challenges we humans collectively create in Bristol: a city we all love.

But to love this city means we need to care for this city.

In the next decade, major institutions will have to change, our infrastructure needs to change, businesses will need to change but each one us will also need to change.

We can do it together, supporting communities so that we leave nobody behind and ensure a just transition.

Any response to the environmental emergency that continues to price the poorest half of the city out of being able to make alternative choices falls at the very first hurdle.

The race to zero

Landing on a plan to face the climate emergency head on was a key priority and the One City Climate Strategy, developed with the city, has set this direction.

In places, the climate strategy is stark, bringing a decarbonisation reality check: 350MW of solar energy, a 40 per cent reduction in vehicle mileage in the city, and replacing domestic gas boilers with green technology in over 96,000 homes.

The investment needed to decarbonise Bristol by 2030 is estimated at more than £5 billion. It’s a big number right? But knowing the start line is not to be underestimated.

Following Bristol declaring the first Climate Emergency, and an Ecological Emergency, other councils across the UK followed suit. But we’ve also led the way in getting beyond the declaration and getting this down on paper.

We have some amazing climate specialists who with us have led the Climate Strategy we are now delivering.

While rolling out retrofit programmes such as Bright Green Homes, supporting lower-income households to increase their energy efficiency and reduce their bills, we’re also developing City Leap, a new joint venture designed to scale up in decarbonisation projects and deliver at unprecedented pace.

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Read more: Four Bristol charities putting the environment at the heart of their work

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#RestorationGeneration

Making space for nature is a key area of the Ecological Emergency declared in 2020, and we’re working as One City to double Bristol’s tree canopy, having already planted some 60,000 new trees.

Collisions between the conflicting housing and ecological crises are only one small part of the big picture for Bristol.

We’re working on the Ecological Action Plan now and I am excited to soon share it with the city, tackling issues such as the use of pesticides, no mow and habitat creation, and supporting pollinators like butterflies and bees at sites around Bristol, including the Bearpit.

There are so many ways each of us can get involved in improving Bristol’s ecology – with more details on our climate hub.

I really believe we can support Bristol to live in a healthy and ecologically rich city for generations to come.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

And last but no means least: bins. By far the most talked about topic in my portfolio.

Our relationship with the waste we create needs transforming in the next decade. We’re a city of recyclers – among the highest performing in the UK, with more recycling centres and reuse shops on the way – but this is only telling half a story.

We’ve got to drive volumes of waste down aiming to be a zero waste to landfill city. This year our top priorities are overhauling commercial waste in the city, tackling fly-tipping and continuing our journey to visibly cleaner streets.

Nicola Beech is the Labour Party councillor for St George Central and the cabinet member for climate, ecology, energy & waste. This is the latest blog from Bristol’s cabinet members on their specialist portfolios.

Main photo: Labour Party

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