Climate action plan from Shropshire group presented in House of Commons
A climate change report from a Shropshire group was praised in the House of Commons as the first constituency-based initiative with ideas to reach net zero carbon.
Philip Dunne, MP for Ludlow, presented the report, compiled by experts and based on evidence from the South Shropshire Climate Action Group, as an inspiring move forward from communities wanting to tackle climate change.
The report was presented in the House of Commons on Wednesday to Alok Sharma, president of COP26, and Anne-Marie Trevelyan, UK International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience for the COP26 Presidency.
South Shropshire Climate Action Group's report is the first constituency-based plan prepared by a community demonstrating how to achieve net carbon goals with practical goals and ideas.
Mr Dunne said in the House of Commons on Wednesday: "The South Shropshire Climate Action Group has produced the first constituency-wide action plan, which I will be delighted to present to both the president and vice president following this session.
"Will there be scope for community groups such as this that are leading the way in finding practical ways for communities to help get to net zero to attend COP26 in Glasgow to spread this great practice?"
Anne-Marie Trevelyan, UK International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience for the COP26 Presidency, replied: "We are really fortunate in the UK, as demonstrated, to have a passionate civil society who are amongst world leaders in demonstrating climate action.
Inspired
"The UK launched the domestic 'Together For Our Planet' campaign to celebrate climate initiatives across the UK and to inspire the public – clearly they are already inspired – to be more engaged in climate action in the run up to COP26.
"So I would be delighted to receive further information on the climate action from Ludlow as well as any other constituencies that wish to submit, because I think to be able to share that is absolutely what COP26 is all about."
Jane Cullen, chair of the South Shropshire Climate Action Group, said lots of people worked on the report and she was pleased to see it presented.
However, she said more needs to be done here in Shropshire and across the UK to support initiatives like this and join together ideas, instead of everything working separately.
"I am really pleased it has been taken to the president of COP26 and the House of Commons and I hope it will lead to further practical engagement on the ground," Jane said.
"The report and the group is completely independent, our MP has just supported us on this. But there is not enough support from central government or Shropshire Council and all the initiatives need to be joined up.
"The report has been written by a lot of people based on evidence. It has generated really great interest and momentum."
The group recently held an online conference with supporters to discuss the report and its key note speaker, a young climate activist from the Solomon Islands, joined them over Zoom and spoke about the impact of climate change on her country.
To watch the conference, visit southshropshireclimateaction.org/next-steps-recordings
