Council advice on how we can all do our bit as COP26 takes places

THE UN climate change conference COP26 is taking place in Glasgow which has brought green issues to the fore this week.

Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council (HBBC) is urging everyone to consider the changes they can make to bring about a greener borough.

The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Locally in 2019, HBBC declared a climate emergency and is working to develop and implement an action plan to work towards its target of carbon neutrality by 2030.

Cllr Martin Cartwright, Executive Member for Climate Change, said: “COP26 is a key conference which will see governments and countries work towards ensuring an environmentally friendly future.

“The council has already taken many steps to ensure it is a cleaner, greener council and this work is both comprehensive and ongoing. Importantly we will be actively seeking to build on this base and improve our contribution by establishing a range of climate change policies in our upcoming Local Plan that for instance will aim to ensure all new build properties where appropriate will have features such as electric car charging points and better connectivity via fibre cabling.

“We are constantly searching for ways to reduce our carbon emissions both in our council facilities and housing stock, even by taking small steps such as eliminating plastic cups across council buildings, everything has had an impact. However we are fully aware that there is lots more to do and we need to do this in partnership with residents if we want to achieve our carbon neutral ambitions.”