The City Council recognises that it needs to play a leadership role working with partners and the local community across the city to raise awareness and understanding around climate change.
Importantly we need to ensure everyone understands what part they can play in addressing the Climate Emergency from an individual level through to community groups, businesses and public sector organisations. The Climate Change Committee suggest that 59% of all reductions will require behaviour change, and as such engagement with all these groups is essential. We will work with the Youth Parliament, children, and young people across the city to ensure that their voice is heard in designing the actions needed to address climate change.
The role of engagement in meeting our Climate Emergency ambitions is huge and should not be underestimated. The only way we can achieve our target is by working collaboratively and sharing responsibility. This sentiment is clearly reflected in the diversity and range of actions that are set for 2022, from tree planting to creating a climate investment fund.
3.77 - University Hospital Plymouth will work towards embedding sustainability into every Trust service and activity by 2025.
3.78 - Plymouth Marjon to create student sustainability champions in order to increase student engagement.
3.79 - Plymouth Marjon to organise a climate crisis event for staff and students.
3.80 - The University of Plymouth will support Plymouth enterprises to shift to a low-carbon economy through the Sustainability Hub: Low Carbon Devon project.
3.81 - The University of Plymouth will support the management of the Future Plymouth 2030 webinar series and the delivery of presentations on the latest research.
3.82 - The University of Plymouth will utilise and grow the usage of the Sustainability Hub for engagement with staff, students and the local partners around the Net-Zero Carbon agenda.
3.83 - Continue the delivery of the Future Parks Accelerator Programme and associated projects to deliver nature-based improvements to strategic green spaces across the city.
3.84 - Working with the creative and cultural sectors continue to deliver the Green Minds engagement programme, to support residents to take action for wildlife.
3.85 - Deliver a nature-based leadership programme to bring together people from different sectors who share an interest in preserving the environment and to support the development of nature-based social enterprise.
3.86 - Deliver a green social prescribing programme, to promote engagement with nature for health and wellbeing.
3.87 - Working with community volunteers and young people, deliver natural infrastructure enhancements to increase biodiversity across the city, offering training, work experience, jobs and apprenticeships.
3.88 - Continue to deliver the Preventing Plastic Pollution Programme to remove plastic pollution raise awareness of the impact of single use plastics on the marine environment.
3.89 - Continue to deliver the ReMEDIES and European Marine Site Recreation Impact Mitigation projects, which aims to identify areas for large scale restoration of seagrass beds.
3.90 - Commence delivery of the Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest project, which will create 500 hectares of new woodland planting across the city by 2025.
3.91 - Deliver a pilot permaculture project at Zoo Field in Central Park.
3.92 - Undertake a review of Local Nature Reserves in the city and give consideration to further designations to mitigate biodiversity and habitat loss.
3.93 - Building on the work of the Plymouth Skills Plan, we will support the development of green skills action plans for the key sectors of the Plymouth Economy, actively working with the Employment Skills Board, Skills Advisory Panel and Heart of the Southwest Local Enterprise Partnership and other key partners to secure funding to develop climate change skills.
3.94 - Support businesses in the tourism industry to gain 'Green Tourism' accreditation, aiming to achieve 100 accreditations in 2022.
3.95 - Provide direct support to businesses in sectors hard-hit by the pandemic to develop new business models and ensure a green, inclusive and sustainable economic recovery.
3.96 - Continue to encourage partner organisations to adopt and align social value procurement policies and ensure carbon reduction is duly considered in their procurement initiatives.
3.97 - Work with the Key Cities Group to benchmark innovative approaches to inform future climate actions and initiatives.
3.98 - Review government commitments arising from COP 26 and the Net Zero Strategy in relation to new requirements on how Plymouth can meet its net zero ambitions by 2030.
3.99 - Through the Community Empowerment programme, identify current engagement, intelligence and successful interventions around reducing emissions across the city to identify good practice and opportunities to expand, and any gaps to be addressed.
3.100 - Continue to work with Cornwall Council, Devon County Council and South Hams and West Devon councils on developing climate emergency initiatives including sharing good practice.
3.101 - Work with the Local Resilience Forum to scope a Plymouth Climate Resilience and Adaptation Plan.
3.102 - Put in place interim planning guidance, pending the review of the Joint Local Plan, to provide even greater protection to the natural environment, and even higher standards of low carbon design and resilience, so that planning practice stays in tune with changing national policy and guidance and gives proper weight to the climate emergency.
3.103 - Investigate the potential for the creation of a Carbon Offsetting Fund secured through Section 106 agreements to fund carbon saving initiatives where high energy efficient requirements in new developments cannot be met.
3.104 - Ahead of the 'Acceleration Phase' of the Plymouth Climate Emergency, commit to the establishment of climate budgets, monitoring trajectories and year-on-year milestone targets for all five key climate emergency sectors (buildings, mobility, power and heat, waste and engagement and responsibility).
3.105 - Organise a themed day at Plymouth Libraries on the topic of climate change.
3.106 - Continue to raise awareness of climate change issues by supporting the Future Plymouth 2030 conference programme in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects.
3.107 - Undertake the 2022 Plymouth Climate Challenge to support community-led climate change projects and initiatives.
3.108 - Continue to engage with the Youth Parliament to ensure that the voice of children and young people is heard in relation to the climate emergency.
3.109 - Continue to promote Ashden Let's Go Zero Campaign to Plymouth's primary and secondary schools to encourage all schools in the city to develop net zero carbon plans.
3.110 - Hold Climate Emergency events for Plymouth schools by embedding it in health and wellbeing briefings.
3.111 - Expand the programme for Climate Change Ambassadors across the whole of Plymouth.
3.112 - Implement the Building (Flood) Resilience in Communities social innovation project in Lipson Vale and St Levan areas to improve and enhance community resilience and increase their ability to meet the challenges posed by climate change.
3.113 - Continue to liaise with interested stakeholders to explore the opportunities and challenges of delivering land and maritime applications for hydrogen generation, supply and use for motorised transport in Plymouth.
3.114 - Establish with partners a Climate Emergency Investment Fund to provide finance to support projects and initiatives to accelerate reductions in carbon emissions and lobby government to resource future provision.