More detail on SBC’s zero emissions needed

Two months ago Slough Borough Council approved a plan to achieve zero carbon emissions arising from council activity by 2030.

Since then, no publicity, no debate, no sign of a public consultation.

Such an ambitious plan needs to be examined, criticised and improved.

The Slough branch of East Berkshire Green Party warmly welcomes this target, which will require huge efforts to realise it.

With no sign of public consultation, we have many comments to make.

We commend the emission reductions of 32.5 per cent since 2015.

We note that a large proportion of the reduction was due to installing LED street lighting.

The benefits could have been greater had the council switched to a sustainable source of power.

The main sources of other reductions are unclear, which leaves uncertainty over exactly how the council proposes to achieve its target, an omission that pervades the whole plan.

The plan only considers emissions directly attributable to SBC, and ignores how the council might use planning powers and the local plan to address wider issues.

It ignores carbon emissions from the council's building schemes and how these can be mitigated, and whether all new housing will be carbon neutral.

Too often the plan offers targets without mechanisms.

A fixed reduction of 10 per cent of current emissions per annum for 10 years is proposed, but some sources offer easier options and it will be hard to cut the same amount every year as emissions decrease.

It would make sense to target the biggest sources first such as electrical power. Emissions from this could be reduced by switching to a supplier of sustainable electricity but this possibility is never mentioned.

Methods of reducing emissions specific to each source need to be laid out.

There is an assumption (often made explicitly) that reducing emissions will reduce costs. But a radical zero emission plan requires investments such as installing solar panels in schools or switching from gas to sustainable electricity.

While we appreciate that local authorities have been starved of funds and such investment will be difficult, society as a whole must face the harsh fact that countering climate change, with its huge adverse consequences, requires investment.

The Environmental Strategic Board responsible for developing and monitoring the plan consists entirely of senior officers of the council.

Not a single elected representative.

This is neither democratic nor wise. To achieve the ambitious targets that have been set, major public support will be needed and the citizens of Slough need to be consulted, encouraged and informed so that they can own the plan.

JOHN WILDING East Berkshire Green Party (Slough Branch)