£4m for Bristol’s action on climate and ecological emergencies

Main image: The Northern Slopes nature reserve in Knowle West, courtesy of Len Wyatt.

A £4m programme to reduce Bristol’s carbon and ecological footprint has been approved this week.

The financial package – agreed by the council’s cabinet on Tuesday (3 November) – comes as the city marks the anniversary of becoming the first in the UK to declare a climate emergency

It will fund a new three-year combined Climate and Ecological Emergency Programme for continued action on travel, housing, energy and nature.

This will help Bristol City Council deliver its aim to be carbon neutral for direct emissions by 2025 and support other organisations in the city-wide effort to become a carbon neutral and resilient city by 2030.

The programme also offers help for city partners and citizens through 20 new projects – including small grants for community led climate action.

As part of helping citizens to do their bit, the council is launching a new website this month – the Bristol Climate Hub – to to give individuals and businesses ideas on how they can make the biggest impact on their carbon footprint.

Mayor Marvin Rees said: “The funding of these projects is another important milestone in the huge ongoing effort of everyone in the city to do what we can to tackle climate change and our impact on nature.

“We are proud in Bristol to have led the way in highlighting what we can do to tackle both the climate and ecological crises at a community level. In doing so, we’re also supporting our recovery from Covid-19 and embedding a new way of life that means we can build back better together…”

In February this year, the Mayor and city partners also declared an Ecological Emergency in recognition of the urgent need for nature recovery in the city and globally.

Cllr Afzal Shah, Cabinet Member for Climate, Ecology and Sustainable Growth, said: “As a council we are proud of the progress we’ve made so far, but we know how important individual actions are in tackling climate change and we also know how these combined actions can have a real impact…

“The effects of climate change are being felt here in Bristol and we need to act now. This could be in the form of flooding, rising food prices and increasingly uncomfortable temperatures. As a responsible authority it is only right the council does everything in its power to tackle the issue and offer every opportunity for citizens to play their part as well.”

For more information on the programme visit: https://democracy.bristol.gov.uk/documents/s53617/CEEP%20Appendix%20A2%20-%20Programme%20Summary%20Final.pdf

The Bristol Climate Hub will launch on 13 November as an online resource for engaging and inspiring community action for our climate.