Climate Change

Climate Change ASHINGTON TOWN COUNCIL POLICY STATEMENT

Background
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is warning that we have 12 years to make the necessary changes to limit a rise in global temperatures to 1.5oC. Failure to act will see a marked increase in sea levels and flooding, extreme and abrupt changes to weather patterns, crop failures, extinctions of plant, insect and animal species and global economic disruption and crisis. This will detrimentally impact on the well-being of billions of people around the world, internationally, nationally, regionally and at a local level, right here in Ashington.

This town was once dubbed "the biggest minining village in the world", at its height the industry locally employed tens of thousands of people and sustained the community. The mining industry is gone and with it the large-scale local employment that made coal town what it was and gave it the proud tradition of industry.

The fight against climate change, as well as being an enormous challenge, brings an opportunity to look to build and focus on a future Ashington with well paid jobs and investment. We can build a bright future for local people by embracing a new clean energy and encourging investment that will bring quality jobs and employment opportunities to benefit the whole community. Ashington can look to work positively towards a carbon neutral future and improve the lives of the people who live her in the process.

In looking to work practically with our major partners and organisations towards the future, Ashington Town Council resolves to;

(i) Recognise the global climate emergency and publicise this to the people of Ashington in order to raise awareness and build support in taking action,

(ii) Work with local Colleges and Universities to measure and understand the town's carbon footprint and subsequently prepare a series of achievable actions the town council together with others can take to address this emergency,

(iii) Embrace the Green Industrial Revolution and work with local, regional and national bodies to ensure Ashington can benefit from jobs created,

(iv) Call on Northumberland County Council and central government to look to provide the powers, resources and directives to make Ashington carbon neutral,

(v) Commit to reviewing all spending in the next fiancial year to ensure the Council's carbon footprint is properly taken into account,

(vi) Positively work towards carbon neutrality by balancing carbon emissions with carbon removal or where possible by looking to eliminate carbon emissions altogether,

(vii) Initiate a yearly competition of Ashington Schools to to develop ideas to make the town carbon neutral, and,

(viii) Look at the establishment of a forum including businesses, local organisations and residents to examine and develop ideas to make the town carbon neutral.