Our pledge
In 2019 we declared a climate emergency, whereby we recognised the magnitude of the issue and, as a local authority, the role we must play in tackling climate change and reducing carbon emissions.
To drive this agenda, a Climate Change Working Group was formed in July 2019 between councillors and officers and chaired by the Portfolio Holder for Climate, Access and Engagement, Cllr Freer. The group meet quarterly to discuss, oversee and progress the council's climate agenda and projects.
The members that currently make up the Climate Change Working Group include:
- Cllr Alison Freer - Portfolio Holder for Climate, Access & Engagement
- Cllr Chris Fisher
- Cllr Phillip Wood
- Cllr Robert Child
A Climate Change Officer was appointed in November 2021 to co-ordinate and deliver projects internally and throughout the borough that support sustainability and reduce climate change.
We work in partnership with other Leicestershire Authorities to be able to deliver local climate related projects, through Green Living Leicestershire, such as the home energy grant scheme to help Leicestershire residents improve the warmth and comfort of their homes, whilst reducing energy bills, carbon emissions and level of fuel poverty across the county.
The Midlands Net Zero Hub are a government funded organisation that supports local authorities to deliver on their net-zero targets. We continue to work closely with them and other partners on energy related projects such as the Local Authority Delivery Schemes to tackle climate change internally and across the borough.
In March 2023 we signed the Leicestershire Climate and Nature Pact.
The pact is a commitment, signed by a number of organisations, to tackle climate change and ecological decline throughout Leicestershire.
Signing the pact shows our commitment to providing a strong message on the collective need to reduce carbon emissions, adapt to global heating and support nature recovery, by taking decisive action to 2030, the definitive decade.
