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22/01/08: Labour working towards a greener future
Major steps towards a more sustainable future are set to be agreed on Tuesday 29 January when Reading Borough Council debates a key motion moved by Steve Waite, Labour’s Lead Councillor for Environment.
Noting that in 2004/5 Borough-wide carbon emissions totalled about 1.1 million tonnes of CO2, of which 50% came from business, 35% from domestic use and 15% from transport, the motion calls for the following.
Implementation of a planning policy which will aim to make all new house building in Reading carbon neutral,
Working with the private sector for all new buildings to be carbon neutral
Retrofitting energy efficiency and low carbon technologies to existing buildings, both residential and commercial
Developing district combined heat and power systems in different parts of town
Investigating the setting up of a Reading carbon trading / exchange scheme to help offset any new buildings unable to reach carbon neutrality
Engaging with local community groups, businesses and the Council’s public sector partners and for Reading Borough Council to develop its future carbon reduction ambitions in line with scientific advice on emissions.
Lead Councillor Steve Waite says; "Climate change is not something that will happen in the future: it is happening now. If we work with urgency to mitigate the rise in temperature we could still stop a major catastrophe and I am determined that Reading Borough Council will lead by example. The steps proposed in this motion will make a real difference, and we owe it to our children to act now so as not to leave them an impoverished environmental legacy and an uncertain future."
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