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Poorest Leeds homes at heart of climate plan
HOMES in some of the most deprived areas of Leeds are to be given free loft and cavity wall insultation in a programme to cut the council's carbon emissions.
As world leaders head for Copenhagen this week to try to thrash out an agreement to tackle climate change, council bosses in Leeds announced plans to cut the authority's carbon emissions by 40 per cent over the next 10 years.
They plan to meet the ambitious target by improving energy efficiency in its buildings, trialling low carbon vehicles and using renewable energy.
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 new 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 these 15 steps alone will help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions of around 280,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
The council has also unveiled a Climate Change Action Plan that sets out how it will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its own operations and across the whole city.
Coun James Monaghan, the council's executive board member for environmental services, 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 of 33.4 per cent by 2020-21.
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Weather for Leeds
Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
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