7:57pm Monday 12th January 2009
By Jack Royston
PLANS to cut carbon emissions by 11.5 per cent per person could be put to public consultation.
Harrow Council has already agreed the target as part of efforts to tackle climate change, but wants approval from residents and other groups for the way it intends to achieve the goal.
A set of draft proposals, which will go out to a range of groups if councillors agree to it, describe climate change as inevitable but say work must focus on what can be done to limit its effects.
The paper says fossil fuels like oil and gas will become expensive in the future and their use will be restricted as a result.
It says: “If we do not prepare now, future generations will face sudden and enormous changes, for which they will be unprepared.”
The council wants to make sure new buildings in the borough are energy efficient, close to public transport and have few parking spaces.
The authority also plans to run schemes to encourage walking and cycling, instead of driving, along with a number of other policies.
The Mayor of London's office wants the capital to reduce emissions by an average of four per cent per year between now and 2025, while the Government wants to bring UK levels down to 20 per cent of their 1990 value, by 2050.
Council efforts to date have focused on recycling, with a particular emphasis on schools, and officers claim the borough recycles more food waste and garden refuse than any other in London.
The report says: “Everyone has a responsibility for tackling climate change. As a community, we need to work together and understand the different roles we have to play in addressing this challenge.”
Plans for the consultation will go before a committee of leading councillors on Thursday.
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