Island's Climate Change Plan To Be Considered By Planners

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 1.5 degrees celsius 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 four 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.

“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 5pm on Thursday.