The Isle of Wight’s progress in combatting climate change will be considered by councillors this week, against a backdrop of ‘widespread and severe impacts’ on ‘eco-systems, infrastructure and human health’.
County Hall’s environment and community protection committee (ECPC) will discuss a council report reviewing achievements, challenges and updates against goals of reaching net-carbon zero for the local authority’s operations and as an Island by 2030 and 2040 respectively.
The council’s Climate and Environment Strategy 2021 – Highlight Report 2025 notes the International Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report which confirms human influence is unequivocally the main driver of global warming.
It also says 1.5c of warming is likely to be reached by the early 2030s without ‘immediate, deep emissions cuts’.
‘Climate change is already causing widespread and severe impacts on ecosystems, infrastructure, and human health’.
The Highlight report says:
“Over the last 4 years the Isle of Wight Council has made some substantial positive changes to the way it makes decisions sustainably, the way it uses its energy, the way it manages its buildings and the way it manages its fleet vehicles.
“On a wider scale the Island has seen traction within its community for optimistic change and many groups have been initiated and are working positively to reduce the carbon footprint, and act as enablers for change.
Article continues below this advertisement “Investments in solar power have helped to increase the Island’s renewable energy generation and green initiatives have been gaining momentum across many of our Island’s communities.
“Schemes such as Green Impact and Eco-Schools have been used to focus on sustainable and environmental initiatives, and the Isle of Wight UNESCO Biosphere status has assisted in the attraction of some major funding across the Island.
“The Isle of Wight Council has successfully secured approximately £2.5 million through phases one and three of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across its estate.”
The report states solar panels have been ‘integrated wherever feasible’ including at the Lord Louis Library in Newport and major leisure centres such as Westridge, Medina and The Heights.
In addition, it points to the council’s vehicle fleet making a ‘significant reduction’ in County Hall’s ‘overall carbon footprint’.
Obstacles to progress include funding at a council and community level, staff resourcing and the Isle of Wight’s school place planning consultation last year taking ‘precedence’ and ‘temporarily shifting focus’ away from ‘net-zero planning’.
ECPC will meet at County Hall at 17:00 on Thursday (28th August).
The council have just released they are £860,000 in debt so it is a great idea.
Let’s take on more staff, hold countless more useless meetings.
Of course, guess who will pay for this spending of money they do not have.
Many civil servants are still shirking from home on
full pay, and I am not joking!
Government jobs are a joke, majority of employees
are UNACCOUNTABLE for.
“They come awake on pay day though”
Tax payers money is being squandered left right
and centre.
Yet they penalise pensioners etc.
Reduce the workforce F.F.S, many Government jobs
could be done by A.I
“Schemes such as Green Impact and Eco-Schools have been used to focus on sustainable and environmental initiatives, and the Isle of Wight UNESCO Biosphere status has assisted in the attraction of some major funding across the Island.
“The Isle of Wight Council has successfully secured approximately £2.5 million through phases one and three of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across its estate.”
Where does all this Funding come from? You got it! Us!
As I posted on an earlier story, the government, which is in the Premier League and its “wannabe” minions in Leagues I (IWCouncil) and II (Town? & Parish) want OUR money to fund their stupidity.
They should concentrate more on education, health & social care and stop this Net Zero fantasy.
The island is years away from Net Zero.
The island is full of dirty diesels and petrol
vehicles, there are hardly any charging points for
EV’s, it might happen by 2050 but it will need action
not talk.
Well said , totally agree.
Half these muppets have no training in any of these fields and more money down the drain and just clock up the vast overspending and debt they have already accumulated with nothing to show for it
the council should focus on getting the bins emptied, the pot holes fixed and the roads swept – rather than on virtue signalling drivel like this