Climate Emergency
Published: 16 March 2019
The climate is changing and too many politicians & people are doing too little to address the changes. Human activity has caused about 1°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels and we are on track to overshoot the 1.5°C limit agreed by world leaders in 2016.
If we fail to address the issues, the consequences will be devastating. A rising sea level will result in widespread flooding and coastal erosion. More droughts and more wildfires will lead to desertification. Irreversible damage to wildlife will be inevitable. We will suffer large-scale water and food shortages. Public health emergencies and mass migration will become commonplace leading to political and economic instability.
In October 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a special report describing the enormous harm that a 2°C rise is likely to cause compared with a 1.5°C rise. The message of our scientists is clear: the time for action is NOW. Drastic changes must be made in the next 11 years if we are to prevent climate breakdown.
Stithians Parish Council (SPC) was one of the first Town & Parish Councils to declare a Climate Emergency in January 2019. This plan represents SPC’s first step in considering the options and strategies that it can adopt to make as much of an impact on carbon reduction as possible and to implement a plan of action to achieve it.
SPC will be taking action and publishing helpful tips for people to consider over the next year. You will be able to follow progress here and on:-
www.facebook.com/Stithiansparishcouncil/
www.facebook.com/groups/Stithians.noticeboard/
As a starting point we are encouraging everyone to calculate their own environmental footprint. It is easy to do, you just answer a few simple questions and hey-presto you get your environmental foot print courtesy of the World Wildlife Fund.
Get you environmental footprint here :- https://footprint.wwf.org.uk
SPC encourages everyone to work out their own environmental footprint and send the simple “tonnes” figure to phil.blease@btinternet.com so we can estimate the scope for improvement for Stithians. All data will be treated anonymously but will give an idea of the scope that the good people of Stithians can help save the planet.