Chelmsford City Council

"Council therefore resolves to:Declare a ‘Climate and Ecological Emergency’ that requires urgent action to make the Council’s activities net-zero carbon by 2030;Achieve 100% low carbon energy across the Council’s full range of functions by 2030; Ensure that all strategic decisions, budgets and approaches to planning decisions are in line with a shift to net-zero carbon by 2030;Support and work with all other relevant agencies towards making the City of Chelmsford and surrounding area net-zero carbon within the same timescale; Ensure that Officers and political leadership teams within Chelmsford City Council embed this work in all areas and take responsibility for reducing, as rapidly as possible, the carbon emissions resulting from the Council’s own activities;Ensure that any recommendations are fully costed and that the Executive and Overview & Scrutiny bodies regularly review Council activities, taking account of production and consumption emissions, and produce an action plan within 12 months together with budget actions and a measured baseline;Request that the Council's Overview & Scrutiny Committee considers the impact of Climate Change and the Environment when reviewing Council policies and strategies;Work with, influence and inspire partnerships across the city to help deliver this goal through all relevant strategies, plans and shared resources by developing a series of meetings, educational events for City Council staff and the wider community and partner workshops focusing on the Climate and Ecological Emergency;Request that the Council and its partners take steps to proactively include young people in the process, ensuring that they also have a voice in shaping the future;Establish a Chelmsford Climate Change Partnership within the remit of the Chelmsford Policy Board, involving councillors, residents, young people below voting age, academics and other relevant parties, to prioritise carbon reduction measures, identify related benefits to employment, health, agricultural and transport sectors and develop a strategy in line with the ‘net-zero carbon by 2030’ target;Establish a baseline for Chelmsford’s ecological status and monitor progress year on year; Report on the level of Council investment in the fossil-fuel industry and review the City Council’s investment strategy to give due consideration to Climate Change impacts in their investment portfolio;Ensure that all reports in preparation for the 2020/21 budget cycle and investment strategy note the actions the City Council will take to address this Emergency;Call on the UK Government to provide such new powers and resources as are necessary to make this possible, and to work within the LGA to encourage other councils to back this plan."

— Full Council (Source)