CLIMATE AND NATURE CONVENTION 2023, WHAT HAPPENED NEXT!
On 18th November 2023 90 local citizens came together in the Civic Centre, Arnold, Nottinghamshire for the Climate and Nature Convention organised by the Gedling Climate Change Group.
A report issued following the Convention summarised 12 topics discussed at the Convention where urgent action is required to combat climate change.
This is what has been accomplished since the Convention.
The Group have attended meetings with members of Gedling Borough Council including Councillor John Clarke MBE, Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Mike Avery, Director of Place, and Sim Duhra, Climate Change Manager.
In January 2024 David Eminson from the group presented the Climate and Nature Convention Report to Councillors, including Michael Payne MP who was Deputy Leader of the Council at that time.
David explained the urgency of the issues raised by people who attended the Convention whilst referring to his concerns for the legacy being left for our grandchildren.
The Group set out to hold face to face meetings with all 41 Councillors on Gedling Borough Council to stress the need to provide leadership on climate change. We had some valuable exchanges although several Councillors did not agree to meet, with some not even acknowledging our requests!
Despite this, regular meetings have followed where we have been discussing: the installation of solar panels on schools and businesses including Mapperley Golf Club, Consultation on Sustainable Buildings and the Gedling Design Code Framework, Gedling Borough Council policy Climate Impact Assessments, Public Awareness Campaigns and Education, Home Insulation Programmes, the Carlton Improvement Plan and Plans for Food Waste Recycling. It’s fair to say a lot of ground has been covered!
In June 2024 the Group, working with the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, organised a Hustings Event for the General Election which focused on Climate and Nature. Candidates from the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Reform attended along with more than 100 members of the public. Each candidate was asked questions on the impact of building more houses on natural habitat, how to improve poorly insulated homes, meeting the UK and international targets on nature by 2023, flooding in Gedling and more generally, and political solutions to tackle climate change and nature. A range of questions were also taken from the public.
Since the General Election we were invited to a meeting with Michael Payne MP where we discussed the Climate and Nature Bill second reading, the United for Warm Homes Campaign, changes to greenhouse gas emissions announced at COP29 and the Carlton Improvement Plan.
The Group are currently planning a Hustings Event for the Notts County Council elections, so please look out for further announcements!
The Group has reached out to collaborate and work with other groups including Climate Action Notts on United for Warm Homes, Burton Joyce Climate Group on the Heat Energy Advice Team (HEAT) Hub with the Nottingham Energy Partnership, Notts Wildlife Trust for the hustings and a performance and discussion on the film Wilding, the Friends of Bestwood Country Park and Gedling Country Park on single use mugs and plastic in their cafes, East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) Coalition including Friends of the Earth lobbying the Mayor, Claire Ward, on Net Zero policy including energy and hydrogen and transport, Extinction Rebellion on stopping government subsidies for Drax Power Station, and Global Justice Now on the Fossil Fuel Non-proliferation Treaty.
Recently members of the Group have been invited to act as secondary stakeholders or the consultation on the Local Area Energy Plan (LAEP) being produced for Gedling by Mott MacDonald and IES.
There is still a lot more work to be done on all of the above, including on issues such as Energy and Green Jobs, Allotments, Community Gardens and Greening.
If you would like to join us working on any of the important issues around Climate Change and Nature, please contact the Gedling Climate Change Group on any of the following:
facebook: GedlingClimateChangeGroup
X: @gedlingccg
www.gedlingccg.wixsite/climatechange
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