Labour’s agenda for environmental change

CATASTROPHIC climate change is the single biggest challenge facing the world right now. It hangs over all of us like the sword of Damocles.

So what are we to do?

We clearly need innovative and bold measures to address this challenge. But that requires political action and to take political action requires political power.

When Labour ran the City Council, we recognised the need for political action and in 2006 committed the Council to reduce its carbon emissions by 25 per cent within five years.

We also set out a vision to make Derby self sufficient in renewable energy by 2025.

Earlier this year we explained how the Council could provide insulation grants to help local people cut their fuel bills by making their homes more energy efficient

We also outlined proposals for the Council to improve public transport, protect the school bus services and introduce a direct bus link to the City Hospital.

All these measures have either been abandoned or voted down before they got started by the combined voting strength of Derby’s Liberal Democrat and Conservative Councillors, which currently outnumber Labour.

Meanwhile the Labour Government has passed the Climate Change Act, which is a world first. It binds the UK government by law to reduce carbon emissions by a third by 2020 and by 80% by 2050.

Renewable energy has doubled in five years and the government is aiming to generate 15% of the nation’s energy requirements from renewables by 2020.

Just think what we could achieve in Derby if the Council embraced our proposals and worked to complement the environmental measures being taken by the government.

Labour’s local programme for renewable energy, reduced energy costs through improved insulation and better public transport would put Derby in the vanguard of cities taking action to develop a low carbon economy.

That’s why I am calling on local people to get behind Labour’s agenda for environmental change in our city.