North Northamptonshire commits to carbon neutral by 2030

Less than a year after coming into being, North Northamptonshire Council has announced that it is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

Since April 2021, work has started in earnest to tackle climate change and look after our beautiful environment. Over the next 12 months, the authority will continue to develop its wider approach to doing so, building on the hard work already underway.

The authority has proposed a budget of £1 million funding over the next three years to tackle climate change. It is expected that elements of this funding will be used to develop a carbon management action plan and establish a Climate Change and Environment strategy. The funding will also be used to roll out environmental awareness training for all elected members and staff in a phased approach, starting in March.

The council has already instigated a tree-planting initiative which has seen more than 2,000 trees planted in the past three months as well as continuing a campaign to ‘feed the bees’ by allowing wildflowers to flourish in some roadside verges, where appropriate. The authority also hosted its own conference – NN Climate 21 – in November, to showcase pioneering measures already in place and in development to reduce carbon emissions in the North Northamptonshire area.

Jason Smithers, leader of the council, said: “I’m proud of the work we have done so far and look forward to seeing further measures put in place to move towards this goal. I would like to personally thank Cllr Pentland and her Executive Advisory Panel for moving forward with pace and getting NNC to this point so early on in this new council’s journey.”