We need a citizens’ assembly to combat climate emergency

Last July the city council declared a climate emergency. In support of this it set aside £500,000 for policies and actions that would make the district carbon neutral by 2030. A very ambitious objective in view of the short time-frame and the fact the district will have unprecedented housing growth in the 2020s.

The council decision was unanimous and had crossparty support. The chief executive has stated in the whole of his professional career he cannot recall a comparable issue that has become so swiftly dominant in political thinking.

The authority is late in addressing this major global issue as a local political priority. Cities such as Bristol and Oxford have been developing climate emergency policies for at least ten years. The city council is initiating a number of measures. It is appointing a climate change officer. It is setting up a partnership board, consisting of local people that can, through their businesses, have an impact on reducing carbon emissions. It is setting up a councillor working group to oversee the council’s activities.

But will these be enough? None of us can begrudge the council setting aside £500,000 to tackle climate change if it reduces the number of children that fall ill and lose days at school because of toxic air. We cannot be happy if older citizens develop colds and flu that lead to long-term respiratory problems and even early death because of poor air quality.

For these reasons the council needs to generate the highest level of public engagement. If we are to achieve the target of zero carbon emissions by 2030 in Canterbury, the council has to capture the hearts and minds of all of us as citizens. It has to engage all economic sectors retail, transport, education, and the health services. Residents must be encouraged to admit we are all responsible for creating unnecessary levels of carbon emission.

The council should consider the need to set up a Citizens Assembly. This is what Oxford has done. To achieve its zero emission targets by 2030, Canterbury needs more than a council committee response. As laudable as the council’s plans are at present - for example, relocating its offices to a carbon neutral new building, or testing electric buses - they will not be enough. More ambitious approaches are required. The city has a corporate plan that will shape its future decision-making. Various resident associations and civic societies have their different plans of how zero emission targets can be tackled.

But these are presently uncoordinated and lack focus. A citizen’s assembly would pull these together. Surely it is the responsibility of the council to harness these energies? As there is already cross-party councillor support for the climate emergency, this is an opportunity for the council to demonstrate united and effective community leadership.