The District Council’s “Climate Action Plan”

Taking steps to realise an ambition

Next: an Energy Descent Action Plan?

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Groups such as Friends of the Earth have been pushing for local ‘climate action plans’:

What’s a Climate Action Plan and can it help your area? | Friends of the Earth

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Last year, EDDC put together a new strategy – and it’s quite ambitious:

Climate Change Strategy 2020 – 2025

Our vision is to become a carbon neutral council by 2040, working within a low carbon economy and lifestyle. This will be reflected in our travel, homes, businesses, visitor experiences and communities.The EDDC Climate Change Strategy 2020 – 2025 sets out an ambitious programme of action to not only reduce our carbon emissions year on year, but also to mitigate against the threats that climate change place on our communities. The strategy was developed following some research we carried out with the help of Exeter University to establish our current carbon footprint. This has provided a baseline for use to work from. You can find out more about this research here.Our 5 year action plan shows how we will address our key priorities and how we will measure our progress over the lifetime of the strategy. Use the links below to find out more.

Action Plan Summary

5 Year Action plan (full)

Climate Change Strategy 2020 – 2025 – East Devon

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And last month, it appointed its first Climate Change Officer – as well as receiving national accolades:

16 July 2021 – THG’s Creative Cabin recognised in national awards – East Devon

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A year ago it was not clear how ‘ambitious’ the East Devon plans really were:

Climate change: a proactive District Council – Vision Group for Sidmouth

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However, it’s very difficult to progress with such limited funding for councils:

Climate change and the District Council – Vision Group for Sidmouth

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Besides, the District Council has taken several concrete steps over the past twelve months:

East Devon receives £100k for climate change projects – Radio Exe

A particularly useful piece of planning is an ‘energy descent action plan’ – first envisioned over ten years ago:

Energy Descent Action Plan (EDAP) – Transition Town Totnes

‘Peak Oil’ might not be so much of a concern today, but the idea of planning for a carbon-free energy future is even more relevant today:

Energy Descent Action Plans – a primer – Resilience

And one clear way to plan is to start considering producing energy locally:

Community energy: planning now for the future – Vision Group for Sidmouth