Climate taskforce to plan Birmingham's route to zero carbon

A new taskforce is being set up to draw up an action plan for how Birmingham can tackle climate change and become carbon neutral by 2030.

The Birmingham Route to Zero taskforce, announced on 6 September, follows the city council's cross-party declaration of a climate emergency in June. In July, the council's cabinet agreed to make tackling climate change one of its six main priorities.

Who will be involved

The taskforce will be chaired by Councillor Waseem Zaffar, cabinet member for transport and environment, with Councillor Sharon Thompson as vice-chair. Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green councillors will also sit on it.

Invitations are going out to a wide range of organisations, including the regional combined authority, the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, the Local Enterprise Partnership, the city's three universities, Tyseley Energy Park, the NHS, the TUC, the environmental law charity ClientEarth, faith communities, local MPs and campaign groups. Two places are set aside for young climate strikers.

What it will do

The taskforce will meet for the first time in October. It will hold round-table and community events to find out what the Route to Zero would mean for the city's communities and businesses, what the city and the council would need to do to achieve it, and what barriers stand in the way. It will also look for opportunities to work with others and share good practice.

An outline plan and key actions are due to be presented to the full council in January 2020.

"Not just a council taskforce"

Cllr Zaffar said: "I am really pleased to be announcing this new climate change taskforce for Birmingham, who will draw up a plan of action to tackle climate change and make our city and our world a better place for future generations to come."

"However, this will not just be a Birmingham City Council taskforce that sits in the Council House; this will be a multi-agency, cross-party taskforce that works in partnership across the city, engaging with our many different communities, covering all ages and backgrounds, to find out what they need and to educate and empower them as we all work together towards a common goal."

"We want Birmingham to become a carbon neutral city by 2030 and the creation of this new taskforce is an important and exciting step forward in working towards achieving that ambition."

A growing movement

The announcement comes at a time of growing public concern about climate change. School pupils across the country, including in Birmingham, have been walking out of lessons to join climate strikes, and many councils have declared climate emergencies this year.

The city is already taking steps to cut pollution. The government approved its Clean Air Zone plans in March, and the zone is expected to come into force next year, charging the most polluting vehicles to enter the city centre. New segregated cycle routes along the A34 and A38 opened in June.

The 2030 target is one of the most ambitious in the country, and meeting it will require major changes to how people in Birmingham heat their homes, travel and work. The taskforce's plan will be the first attempt to set out how that could be done.