In 2005 Oxford City Council produced an adventurous Climate Change Action Plan for the city aimed at establishing CO2 reduction targets and improving energy efficiency in the Council’s building stock.Oxford Climate Change Action plan in PDF format: http://www.oxford.gov.uk/files/meetingdocs/32031/item%207%20part%202.pdf
As part of this process a budget was established to help council house owners undertake energy efficiency improvements. These funds were originally allocated to insure that any energy saving improvements would be cost neutral to the occupier, with the understanding that the initiative would eventually be self financing for the Council.
However at this Monday’s full council meeting (12th Feb) both the Lib Dems and Labour will propose budgets cutting by £150,000 the money available for energy efficiency improvements.
Only last week a report confirming the impact of human actions on global warming was published by the IPCC – the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The study stated that human induced carbon emissions will almost certainly increase global temperature rise far beyond the danger threshold – this will cause massive loss of life, species loss, humanitarian and economic catastrophe.
These Lib Dem and Labour proposals demonstrate that both groups are backtracking on their widely trumpeted commitment to tackle Climate Change at a local level. It also means that Oxford Council House dwellers are loosing out on a chance to improve the long term energy efficiency of their homes.
If you wish to join Respect and other campaigning groups in protesting at the proposed cuts then please e-mail the following councillors who will be proposing the Labour and Lib Dem budgets on Monday.
cllrbprice@oxford.gov.uk Labour
cllreturner@oxford.gov.uk Labour
cllrjgoddard@oxford.gov.uk Lib Dems
cllrstall@oxford.gov.uk Lib Dems
Respect's national policy on Climate Change can be read here:
http://www.respectcoalition.org/index.php?ite=920
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