Climate emergency – executive approval
Taking action on climate change
With the declaration of a climate emergency, we've put the need to confront climate change as an important priority. To tackle the climate emergency, we've pledged to ensure that Luton is net zero by 2040, ten years ahead of the government’s own target.
Meeting this ambitious objective will need everyone in Luton to be involved. We need to:
- know what the people of Luton think
- listen to ideas concerning the measures you want to see implemented in the town
- understand the scale and pace of change that is required
Luton's councillors have already:
- agreed an ambitious timeline for developing a response to climate change for Luton and last year
- established a cross party working group to drive this timeline forward
- brought on board specialists to advice and support the us to achieve our aims
We've now agreed some important actions and milestones which will continue to propel this agenda further. This includes:
- declaring a climate change emergency in Luton
- setting 2040 as a target for Luton to reach net zero carbon
There will also be a revised timeline for the Luton wide action plan, which describes what we need to do to reduce carbon emission across the whole council and in the town.
We've already been looking at how this can be achieved through our Local Plan and transport policy which encourages:
- more walking and cycling
- the use of public transport and electric vehicles
However, more work needs to be done.
We'll continue to work with key stakeholders, including our airport company, Luton Rising and the operator LLAOL, in their aims of becoming one of the greenest airport in the UK and helping Luton become net zero by 2040.
The Executive have also agreed that there should be further work on developing proposals on improving air quality within the town, with specific targeting around education and hotspot areas.
Councillor Tom Shaw, Chair of the cross-party Climate Change Executive Advisory Board, said: "We're really encouraged that progress is being made and we continue to drive forward this important issue, but to achieve the 2040 target we will have to go further.
"Dealing with climate change needs community, stakeholders and experts involved. Not only are we developing strong relationships with businesses, we're also encouraging all those interested, across all sections of the community, to take part in the forum next month.
"We want to discuss the issues and know what people think should happen in Luton and consider measures and steps that need to be taken."