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Action plan pledge to cut city carbon emissions by 40pc
COUNCIL chiefs in Leeds have pledged to cut the authority's carbon emissions by 40 per cent by 2020.
The target will be met by improving energy efficiency in buildings, trialling low carbon vehicles and using renewable energy.
The council has also unveiled a Climate Change Action Plan that sets out how it will reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from its own operations and across the whole city.
The far-reaching plan covers the range of ways the council will take action dealing with issues of home energy efficiency, transport, recycling, waste treatment and extreme weather.
A council spokesman said: "It provides tangible proof of the ways the council is helping Leeds stand up to the effects of climate change."
A report agreed by the council's executive board highlights 15 actions, selected as major priorities to help transform Leeds into a "low carbon city".
These include:
Trialling a scheme to give free loft and cavity wall insulation to up to 1,000 homes in the most deprived parts of the city;
Ways to tackle carbon reduction in buildings, street lighting, fleet and staff travel to save 47,300 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year by 2020;
Diverting waste from landfill and recover value from non-recyclable items;
Moving forward plans for city centre flood defences.
By 2020, the council predicts that these 15 actions alone will help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions of around 280,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.
Leeds City Council's executive board member for environmental services, James Monaghan, said: "This is a big challenge but one we're determined to achieve.
"A low-carbon Leeds is a priority and a long-term goal and this action plan is a real opportunity to galvanise our staff to take action for the organisation and for the city.
"We're already making efficiencies right across our own buildings, vehicle fleet and even our street lighting. Now we need to go further, and by saving energy and CO2, we will be helping protect our environment and saving council taxpayers' money."
The council's new target on carbon reduction is an increase of six per cent on the previous target.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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