Get Serious About CO2
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Councillors across Manchester have been pledging their support for our Get Serious About CO2 campaign, which is calling on Manchester City Council to set a target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by at least 40% by 2020. |
Research from Friends of the Earth shows that taking action on climate change could create over 1,000 jobs in Greater Manchester and save the people of Manchester over £8 million per year on their fuel bills.
Postcard handover
| On Monday 16 November, we met the leader of the council, Sir Richard Leese, to present him with over 800 postcards from Manchester residents calling on the council to Get Serious About CO2. |  |
Sir Richard said: "I think the council will get serious about CO2, and we'll be agreeing this week to a 41% reduction in emissions by 2020. But we recognise to achieve that we need to get lots and lots of Manchester people engaged with the process and I think campaigns of this sort are a good way to get people first of all engaged and then going on to get them involved because without that we won't succeed."
Executive decision
And he was true to his word - on Wednesday 18 November, Manchester City Council signed off its Climate Change Action Plan at an Executive meeting at Manchester Town Hall. The plan, entitled "Manchester: A Certain Future" contains two key objectives:
1. Reducing the city of Manchester's emissions of CO2 by 41% by 2020, from 2005 levels. This equates to a reduction from current levels of 3.2 million tonnes per annum to less than two million; it also equates to a reduction in per capita emissions from 7.3 tonnes to 4.3 tonnes per head.
2. Engaging all individuals, neighbourhoods and organisations in Manchester in a process of cultural change that embeds ‘low carbon thinking' into the lifestyles and operations of the city.
The plan will be officially launched at a special climate change event, featuring special guest Ed Miliband, organised by Manchester Friends of the Earth and DECC on Tuesday 8 December in Manchester Central.
Photos
So far, the following councillors have pledged their support (click on the photos for higher resolution versions)...
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Cllr Sameem Ali (Moss Side) |
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Cllr Mike Amesbury (Fallowfield) |
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Cllr Paul Andrews (Baguley) |
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John Leech MP (Manchester Withington) and Cllr Paul Ankers (Chorlton) |
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Cllr Hugh Barrett (Sharston) |
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Cllr Jim Battle (Ancoats & Clayton) |
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Cllrs Susan Cooley & Sue Murphy (Brooklands) |
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Cllr Richard Cowell (Northenden) |
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Cllr Iain Donaldson (Burnage) |
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Cllr Helen Fisher (Didsbury East) |
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Cllr John Grant (Whalley Range) |
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Cllr Brendon Jones (Withington) |
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Cllrs Norman Lewis & Bernie Ryan (Chorlton Park) |
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Cllr John Longsden (Bradford) |
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Cllr Nigel Murphy (Hulme) |
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Cllr Sheila Newman (Chorlton) |
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Cllr Brian O'Neil (Woodhouse Park) |
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Cllrs Martin Pagel & Naeem Hassan (Cheetham) |
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Cllr Bernard Priest (Ardwick) |
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Cllr Jeff Smith (Old Moat) |
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Cllr Val Stevens (Chorlton) |
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Cllr Mary Watson (Whalley Range) |
Take Action!
Contact your councillor at www.getseriousaboutco2.com.