In response to the world's climate and ecological emergency and having formally adopted Dorset Council's declaration of a Climate and Ecological Emergency in May 2019, Loders Parish Council has developed its own Climate & Ecological Emergency Action Plan concentrating on those areas in the Dorset Council Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy  (the Loders Parish Council response to the Dorset Council Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy consultation can be read here) where we feel we can directly contribute.  These are:

1. Transport
2. Renewable Energy
3. Natural Assets
   

You can also read about Climate Change and what the government's plans are to tackle it here.

Loders Parish Council Climate & Ecological Emergency Action Plan (CEEAP) 

As a first step to identify ways in which the local community can make a positive difference, Loders Parish Council drafted the 'Loders Parish Council Climate and Ecological Emergency Action Plan'.  If you wish to make a comment or provide feedback on the Action Plan, please email the Clerk at loders@dorset-aptc.gov.uk.

Why is this Action Plan needed?

Loders Parish Council formally adopted the Dorset Council’s declaration of a Climate Emergency in May 2019. Many other UK town and parish councils have since declared the same. Actions at a community level are recognised as a key element in successfully tackling this crisis. This draft policy is our first step to identify ways in which our local community can make a positive difference.

The climate and ecological crisis facing the world is unprecedented, and now is the time to act. This urgency has been widely recognised, with the head of the UN Antonio Guterres recently stating that humanity is heading ‘towards the edge of an abyss’.

The IPCC’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, published in October 2018, describes the enormous harm that a 2°C rise is likely to cause compared to a 1.5°C rise. Limiting Global Warming to 1.5°C may still be possible, but it would take rapid and far-reaching action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector and local communities. It could also help build a fairer and more sustainable society.

Meanwhile the crisis in biodiversity is arguably more severe. In 2019, the international review of biodiversity by the UN, the IPBES report (compiled by over 450 scientists and diplomats), found 1 million species to be at risk of extinction. Nature is being destroyed at an unprecedented rate. As Greta Thunberg has said, “We are cutting off the branch we are living on.”

Our children’s future completely depends on what we do now.

How will our Action Plan be implemented?

We should like our Action Plan to reflect the views of the whole community in Loders and Uploders. We will need to bring together the skills, experience and expertise of everyone in the parish, as well as to find out people’s needs, priorities and interests to shape the policy.

We had hoped, in February 2020 to take our first community-based step to launch and implement our parish Climate and Ecological Action Plan with a public meeting. The coming of the Covid pandemic has prevented that. We are instead currently exploring the use of virtual media to facilitate community engagement - updates will be posted on our Parish Council website. I hope that, in the very near future, our community will be able to take steps, together, at our local level to help address the current crisis.

Meanwhile, please do as much as you can to:

• use or generate more renewable energy,
• reduce the energy you use at home,
• make changes to your diet, buy more local food or grow your own food,
• buy from companies with green credentials,
• reduce your waste and recycle more,
• use less water,
• make your garden more wildlife friendly,
• travel less, walk &/or cycle more &/or buy an electric car.

Michele Warrington, Chair, Loders Parish Council, February 2021

 

Climate Action Websites 

Dorset Climate Action Network - inspiring community-led action for a fairer, healthier, greener Dorset

Low Carbon Dorset - helping reduce Dorset's footprint

Dorset Council -  protecting our natural environment, climate and ecology

Dorset AONB - making sure that our special landscapes are handed to future generations in good shape

CPRE - the countryside charity campaigning to protect rural England

Dorset Wildlife Trust - protecting Dorset's wildlife and natural places 

Dorset Environmental Record Centre - collating information on all of Dorset's wildlife.  This map shows West Dorset's current and potential ecological network

Dorset Local Nature Partnership - to maximise the benefits to be gained from protecting and enhancing the unique natural assets of the area for people, wildlife and businesses

Dorset Coast Forum - an independent, strategic coastal partnership

Jurassic Coast Trust - UNESCO World Heritage Site

Dorset Greener Homes -  part of the national network (Green Open Homes) for low carbon open homes

Buglife - saving the small things that run the planet 

Bat Conservation Trust - a world rich in wildlife where bats and people thrive together