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Make carbon pledge reality
22nd February 2009
A South Tyneside green campaigner has challenged South Tyneside Council to turn their words on tackling climate change into action.
Council leader Ian Malcolm recently signed the Covenant of Mayors agreement in the European parliament, pledging South Tyneside Council and partner councils in Tyne and Wear to cut CO2 emissions by greater than 20 per cent over the next 11 years.
Bryan Atkinson, who was speaking on behalf of Friends of the Earth on the BBC's Politics Show, called for the proposed cuts to be incorporated into South Tyneside Council's Local Development Framework Core Strategy for the area, which would have the effect of making the pledge legally binding.
The Local Development Framework is the council's statutory document which drives planning in the borough for the next 20 years.
Speaking after the show, Bryan Atkinson said:
"I welcome councillor Malcolm's pledge to make these essential cuts, but the real test will be in delivering them.
"If he's serious about tackling climate change, and genuinely wants to reduce South Tyneside's greenhouse gas emissions by 20 to 30 per cent over the next decade, the promised CO2 reductions must be embedded into the council's core development strategy.
"Anything less will mean these urgently needed cuts just won’t happen, and risks turning his pledge into an empty promise."