GREEN Assistant Mayor for neighbourhoods, Daniella Radice, will be joining leaders from all over the world at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris.
Assistant Mayor Radice will be speaking at a number of events including sharing Bristol Council’s experience of launching a new energy company and the city’s large-scale insulation and solar energy programmes.
Ahead of her trip, Radice said:
“As a city we are lucky because we have the ability to reduce our carbon footprint by our own efforts, for example through the work we have done to insulate homes, reduce waste and encourage active travel.
“In Paris I will be calling for national governments to do their bit and question whether they are really ‘in it for good’, because cities alone cannot solve the problem, particularly in such a highly centralised country such as ours. We desperately need international and national governments to put all the conditions in place to enable us to function truly sustainably, for example by encouraging rather than discouraging renewable energy.
“In Bristol I am delighted that as a council we have already reached our target of 40% reductions in CO2 emissions by 2020, and done so five years earlier than planned. Across Bristol we still have a long way to go to reduce CO2 emissions, but as a city we are heading in the right direction. If local authorities and local communities are able to make such dramatic changes and commitments, then our own national government has no excuse. Whether the outcomes of COP are good or bad, it is our children and grandchildren who will be living with the legacy.”