Green my Suffolk

G8 and Suffolk: the Greenest County

Ok, I admit to feeling a little pessimistic about the G8 (and my own local Council) so I am very pleased that the biG8 have at least agreed that we need to reduce our carbon emissions. It is positive that Bush appears to have decided that the US will tackle CO2 emissions in coordination with the rest of the world (although he didn't turn up for work today, feeling a little ill - too many agreements and concessions clearly unsettle him !).

However no firm targets or binding agreements have been reached and probably won't be for quite some time. Unfortunately this means our chances of bringing Climate Change down to a not too disastrous level are disappearing faster than the ice in Greenland. Recent reports quite definitely state that Climate Change is happening much faster than anticipated which in turn will need much greater and faster action from everyone, everywhere.

Though we talk of reducing CO2 emisiions by 60% by 2050 (Climate Change Bill) it appears that a more realistic target should be 90% by 2050, as suggested by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change resesarch in a 2006 report, if we are to avoid the really nasty effects. Anyone who's anyone in the green political arena is pushing for the 90%... i.e Al Gore, Friends of the Earth etc etc but whether it is achieveable without global agreement and in fact "how" in general hasn't quite been resolved.

If International governments can't agree it is no wonder that increasingly all over the world communities are tackling these matters themselves. People are recognising the  benefits of using natural resources in a sustainable and ethical manner and the need to stop environmental degradation at a local and global level.

In a classic example of a bottoms up people power approach villages and towns in the UK are working to solve the issues of Climate Change and resource depletion (remember? the oil then the gas etc) in their own communities. See www.transitiontowns.org   www.goingcarbonneutral.co.uk  and www.gozero.org.uk all over the country from Totnes, to Brixton to Chew Magna to Ashton Hayes ... people are doing something

This includes Suffolk County Council who for some time have been working towards the launch of a new initiative "Suffolk: Creating the Greenest County"   and St. Edmundsbury Borough Council who have just signed a pledge to take local action to reduce CO2 emissions. I hope their commitment will encourage the public to support them. 

Another smaller team working to green their own environment is the Green Village team over at Polstead, Stoke by Nayland and Leavenheath. Committed volunteers got together in 2005 and have had amazing results. They have had many events to raise awareness locally and have seen a definite shift in attitudes. Hopefully they have created a prototype which can be implemented elsewhere in the county / UK. I borrowed their Eco Balls - thanks, guys ! I have since bought some of my own but may not have done if I hadn't had the chance to test them (!) 

It is fantastic news that people are making these decisions at local levels and this should futher encourage those at international level to hunker down, take some compromises and make some binding agreements - starting now. 

• Posted by emma on 08/06/2007.
• emma's site