Ask your councillors for an ambitious Climate Action Strategy and Plan
Coventry currently has no Climate Change Strategy. The last one expired in 2020 and has not been replaced. And, unlike 78% of councils, it has never had a Climate Action Plan.
Clearly, tackling climate change is clearly not one of Coventry’s priorities, despite the City’s claim to recognised as a global leader on climate action and the fact that Councillor Jim O’Boyle claims that Coventry is “facing the challenge of climate change“. He sees the challenge as merely being how to use climate change to create more jobs in the city, not as a challenge to the very existence of civilization as we know it.
Please ask your councillors to make sure Coventry City Council produces and implements a strong Climate Action Plan. You might want to base it on the template below.
You can find who your councillor are by visiting https://www.coventry.gov.uk/councillors/search
Template Email
Dear [name]
I’m writing to ask you to press Coventry City Council to produce a new Climate Change Strategy (the last one expired in 2020) and to create and implement a strong Climate Action Plan as soon as possible.
I’m deeply concerned about the extreme weather we’ve experienced this summer. The UK is now getting hit by floods and heatwaves, sometimes within days of each other. Across the world, climate breakdown is increasing the likelihood of extreme weather events and disasters like flooding and wildfires, which are already devastating communities and the planet. The recent IPCC report was described by the UN Secretary-General as a code red for humanity.
The government has recently committed to cut the UK’s carbon emissions by 78% by 2035. This will require concerted action at all levels, including councils, which have an invaluable role to play in tackling climate change.
Coventry claims to be “recognised as a global leader on climate action” (see https://www.coventry.gov.uk/news/article/3550/leader_of_coventry_city_council_shows_support_for_emission_reduction_targets). Yet Coventry has neither a Climate Change Strategy nor a Climate Action Plan.
Councils have powers to make rapid and decisive change on this urgent issue. The choices made now will decide whether future generations live on a safe and habitable planet. Instead of facing an increasingly bleak and turbulent future, our local council could be responsible for a climate action plan that lowers carbon emissions, implements green jobs and creates a cleaner, less polluted local environment that promotes physical and mental wellbeing.
In this decisive year, when the international climate talks are being held in Glasgow, I’m calling Coventry City Council to create a Climate Change Strategy and implement a Climate Action Plan.
78% of councils already have a climate action plan, but ours is lagging behind. As my local councillor, I’d really appreciate a commitment to calling for a Climate Change Strategy and a Climate Action Plan from you.
Implementing a robust Climate Action Plan can also help COVID recovery plans by stimulating the economy, creating jobs, lowering fuel bills and increasing wellbeing. The policy choices made right now and in the next few years will be decisive in playing our part to tackle the climate crisis.
I look forward to hearing from you.