Members of the Staffordshire Moorlands Green Party have produced a report to SMDC with regard to the recent consultation on the current district net zero target (2030) and their suggestion for priority areas of effort.
The group challenged the plans to remove the 2030 target and provided seven areas of work we thought would bring maximum impact
1) Strive to achieve the 2030 targets across the whole range of priorities you have listed and others we have suggested. Aim to achieve significant progress in all areas, each year from now on.
2) Actively seek and collaborate with local community groups to help achieve its identified targets and actions more rapidly.
3) Incorporate an educational strategy into the Climate Action Plan. Initiate and maintain the spread of reliable scientific information concerning the reality of global warming and its consequences, in schools and in the community at large. Proactively encourage citizen science projects that foster local engagement and learning. We feel it is of the utmost importance that communities are informed regarding the current scientific consensus. Most of the information sheets included in the consultation need to be significantly updated.
4) Liaise with and support farmers in the Staffordshire Moorlands to discuss and implement the best sustainable farming and biodiversity practices and in lobbying for adequate central government funding to achieve the goals needed. We depend on farmers for the food we eat, and for the care of the countryside; they must be supported.
5) Collaborate proactively with Staffordshire Moorlands Parish Councils, providing a greater impetus for them to initiate and engage with local sustainability and nature solutions to climate change.
6) The Staffordshire Moorlands Green party is committed to establishing energy and food security for this area. Please engage with us to help achieve these outcomes.
7) Prepare for food shortages, further flooding, extended freezing conditions, heatwaves, power cuts, etc, which are likely to increase in the absence of immediate emissions reductions at a global and national level. It is important to make our area as self-sufficient as possible for all critical needs.
Full report is available below: