‘Opportunity for a green recovery plan’

IF THERE is anything positive to come out of the pandemic, it is that we wake up to the urgency to act on climate change.

Coronavirus has provided a stark reminder of what happens when humanity’s relationship with nature breaks down. That’s why at Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, addressing our climate and nature crises remains a top priority.

With lockdown measures being gradually eased, we are developing plans to help communities and businesses recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

We want to deliver a ‘green recovery.’

Over the last few months we have seen the positive effect that fewer cars on the roads and planes in the sky has had on air quality and biodiversity.

This difficult period has heightened our awareness of how the economy could be changed for the better. The Government needs to work with councils and businesses to boost home insulation, renewable energy, electric vehicle infrastructure, tree planting and the restoration of peatlands, all of which would create new green jobs quickly and reduce the UK’S emissions in line with longterm low-carbon goals.

A recent study by Oxford University found that focusing on the green economy would produce greater returns for public money, in the short and long term, than pouring cash into a conventional fossilfuelled recovery.

It is, therefore, important to prioritise growing the green economy as part of the Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda to increase investment in left-behind areas, including North Staffordshire.

A clean, green transport revolution must form a part of delivering the UK’S world-leading net zero target – and our own local target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

In our local area, reopening the rail line from Leek to Stoke would be a great example of green transport in action.

Protecting and enhancing our natural, green spaces is another key element of a green recovery. That’s why our officer team is working behind the scenes with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust conservation officers on our Green Infrastructure Delivery Plan to improve and expand natural green spaces across the Staffordshire Moorlands.

As a member of DEFRA’S Local Adaptation Advisory Panel, I will be promoting nature-based solutions to climate change to the Government and other councils across the country.

A science-led, clean and resilient recovery will create employment in the industries of the future while ensuring we address the linked challenges of poor public health, climate change, and biodiversity loss.

Cllr Joe Porter Brown Edge and Endon