Bristol’s carbon neutral 2030 target essential

The Green councillor who proposed Bristol’s Climate Emergency declaration has warned that plans to go carbon neutral by 2030 face a high risk of failure according to a report to Cabinet this week. The ‘Corporate Risk Management report’ on page 107 of the Cabinet papers notes that there is now a  ‘high risk’ of failure to deliver the Mayor’s Climate Emergency Action Plan and One City Climate Strategy.

Green Councillor Carla Denyer proposed Bristol Council’s original Climate Emergency motion – the first of its kind in Europe – in November 2018. She said:

“Hidden away on page 107 is a warning that there is now a high risk of failure to deliver the Council’s Climate Emergency Action Plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2030. This is very concerning. We cannot afford to lurch from one emergency to another. Some form of Green New Deal is essential to help the city and country to ‘build back better’. A green recovery is the only way to deal with the huge economic challenges while tackling the climate crisis, creating security and leaving behind the inequality that has damaged our society for so long.”

The report’s listing of the risk is as follows:

• CRR31: Failure to deliver Mayor’s Climate Emergency Action Plan and One City Climate Strategy. The risk rating being 4×5 (20) high risk. This risk is managed and monitored within the Growth and Regeneration Service Risk Registers.