Is Coventry really “facing the challenge of climate change”?

Coventry City Council Climate Change & Sustainability Team has published a document entitled “Coventry facing the challenge of climate change”. It can be downloaded in PDF format here. The introduction summarises the City’s attitude to climate change:

The Council has a major role to play in not only setting an example for others to follow but mobilising all that live and work in the city to embrace the challenges that climate change and delivering a sustainable future presents us. This is not seen as a threat but more as an opportunity. We have the opportunity to position ourselves as a leading city in a global market.

The fact that Coventry does not see climate change as a threat is demonstrated clearly by the fact that, unlike cities such as Cambridge which take the threat of climate change seriously, it has failed to produce a strategy to replace its previous one which expired in 2020. It has failed to declare a climate emergency. The closest it got was during a debate on 18 June 2019 in which Councillor J O’Boyle moved the motion that

“This Council confirms its commitment to addressing the isssue (sic) of climate change and recommends the course of action that we are currently undertaking to respond to the climate change emergency”

In other words, no new actions were proposed to cope with the emergency. It was just business as usual.

The new document largely echoes the message that Councillor O’Boyle sent to CovCAN climate reporter Elliot Parker in July 2020, which we published here.

Lack of Citizen Engagement

And how is the city “mobilising all that live and work in the city to embrace the challenges that climate change”?

The city’s plans are focussed on attracting inward investment and creating jobs, but it has no plans to engage with its citizens to do something about climate change. This is shown by the statement that

Addressing climate change needs to be done in partnership – with all stakeholders across the city.

And who are these “stakeholders”? Businesses and universities. The council seems unaware of innovations which engage with citizens such as the Warwick People’s Climate Change Inquiry. Or Solihull Council, which wants residents to help shape Action Plan for tackling Climate Change. Or Birmingham’s Climate Emergency Citizen survey and accompanying focus groups. You can download Birmingham’s report PDF here. And those are just examples from our neighbouring councils. There are many more examples across the country.

CovCAN was formed when leader of the council George Duggins refused the Coventry United Nations Association suggestion in 2019 to create a schools council at which students could meet to plan joint action on climate change. Nothing has changed.

Coventry is not facing the challenge of climate change; it is merely looking for opportunities.

Comments

Is Coventry really “facing the challenge of climate change”? — 8 Comments

George Riches on 21/08/2021 at 09:59 said:

Could you give examples, apart from Citizen Engagement, where other councils are doing more than Coventry council?

Maybe Citizens should see what other councils are doing to check what is missing from Coventry’s approach?

Responding to the Climate Crisis (e.g preparing for floods, heatwaves, mass migration) is quite different from reducing carbon emissions asap.

Reply ↓
- Philip Brown on 23/08/2021 at 08:02 said:
  
  Hi George, Thanks for your questions. I have added a few more examples of what local councils are doing to engage the public and pointed out that there are many more across the country.
  
  Reply ↓
Sara Maycock on 04/09/2021 at 13:01 said:

Having witnessed Coventry’s Planning Committee in action this week, it endorses the general lack of concern by the Council for preserving green spaces. The last Council-owned publicly accessible green space in Whitley will go under the bulldozers, 349 housing units having been voted through with little discussion as to the impact on the local neighbourhood and local roads or reference to Council policy around increasing and improving green spaces. The Local Plan identified 3 separate parcels of land for 200 houses in total along the London Road. This is being easily met by one of the parcels of land. It is a scary prospect indeed that no importance is being attached to preserving biodiversity and the natural landscape. It has consigned the area to overwhelming traffic, poor air quality and no available informal green space suitable for families.

Reply ↓
Joe Fordham on 23/09/2021 at 08:59 said:

What a joke, “Coventry a leading city in a global environment”. While we have leaders like George Duggins and Philip Browne In charge we will never get anywhere with the fete that awaits the world. My dog has more interest in the subject than them. Because they know nothing they assume that no one else does.

Reply ↓
- Philip Brown on 23/09/2021 at 10:01 said:
  
  Dear Mr Fordham, I am in charge of nothing except this website.
  
  As I have reminded you before, politeness costs nothing.
  
  If you continue to post abusive comments you will be barred from adding comments to this website.
  
  I have given you the opportunity to add information about the product or service you appear to have invented, but you have sent none.
  
  This is not the way to persuade people that you have a genuine new idea.
  
  Reply ↓
George Riches on 12/10/2021 at 11:36 said:

I have just been informed that Coventry City Council has started work on a Climate Action Plan. it won’t be published before 2022.

As the Climate Action Committee wrote:

“[Local Authority] levers alone are unlikely to be sufficient to deliver local authorities’ Net Zero ambitions, due to gaps in powers, policy and funding, and a lack of capacity and skills at a local level.”

There’s plenty of hot air about carbon zero – what’s needed are actions which make a positive difference.

Reply ↓
- A on 18/10/2021 at 14:52 said:
  
  I’d go with that… all of it!
  
  Reply ↓
- Haydn Chick on 30/10/2021 at 15:27 said:
  
  Hi George, do you know who is responsible for compiling the Climate Action Plan? Jim O’boyle doesn’t seem to have a clue what he’s talking about. It would be interesting to know which authorities/experts they are consulting. It needs to be a holistic approach that covers housing, transport, employment etc and that doesn’t include unnecessary development on greenbelt or urban green spaces. Is there a consultation and engagement process whereby we can be involved in the process?
  
  Reply ↓