At its meeting in July, the Full Council of Gloucester City debated a motion about climate change. The Council joined others in Gloucestershire (and Parliament) in declaring a climate emergency. It also committed itself to becoming a zero carbon council by 2030 and a carbon neutral city by 2050.

The debate was described as being the most important ever to be held in the Chamber and it’s true that environmental issues top the list of public concern at the moment, aside from the hopefully temporary number one issue of Brexit. Indeed, the public gallery was unusually full for the debate including some largely well-behaved Extinction Rebellion activists.

Although there was some debate around the date for targets and the means by which to achieve them, the principle was supported unanimously across the Chamber. What we need to do now is to draw up an action plan to help us deliver those goals. We will do so jointly with the other councils in Gloucestershire, as to do so on our own would seem inappropriate given the scale of the challenge.

We want to do better

In a sense, the Council having a plan to combat our impact on the environment is nothing new. We adopted a Climate Change Strategy in 2010 and have delivered many environmental improvement projects. Recycling rates have risen from single figures to around 45% over the last 15 years, but we want to do better. We have replaced lighting in our offices and car parks with energy efficient LEDs. We installed a combined heat and power unit at GL1 Leisure Centre – one of our biggest energy users. And our new buildings, like the new bus station, are designed with sustainability at the heart, with features such as solar panels.

But perhaps those are the easy steps to take. To avoid future catastrophe, we need to take bold decisions collectively as a city and individually in our lifestyle choices. Transport and energy are two areas in which we can make a big difference. Planting trees, albeit it needs to be in huge numbers, can also have a dramatic impact. But what other steps can we take? Please do let me have your thoughts on what we should do to play our part in saving our planet.