Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees has praised a community-led climate action programme that aims to improve the quality of life for people around Bristol.
The programme, pioneered by Bristol Green Capital Partnership, has received a major boost through a £2.48 million grant from the National Lottery’s Climate Action Fund. This investment will help enable the city's diverse communities to action their climate strategies and work towards the city's 2030 carbon neutral target.
In a statement, the Labour mayor said: “In setting our ambition to make Bristol a carbon neutral and climate resilient city by 2030, we have been clear that environmental and social justice must be delivered hand in hand. That means empowering our diverse communities to take a leading role in Bristol’s response to the climate emergency.
Read more: Everything we know so far about Bristol's Climate Action Plan one year on
"Bristol Green Capital Partnership’s work has been crucial in achieving this, partnering with six communities across Bristol to develop their own Community Climate Action Plans. This allows communities to shape climate action so that it brings the social benefits they want to see.
"I’m delighted that the National Lottery Climate Action Fund has given us the green light to continue to work with communities to turn their ambitious climate action plans into action.”
Bristol Green Capital Partnership offers expert advice to help the city reach carbon neutrality by 2030. It cites more than 1,000 organisations that have taken a pledge to achieve this goal and is focusing on rolling this out across the communities in Bristol.
The lottery award will support an ambitious, three-year city-wide programme to expand the Bristol Community Climate Action project, delivered by Bristol Green Capital Partnership in collaboration with six diverse communities organisations across the city - ACH, Ambition Lawrence Weston, Bristol Disability Equality Forum, Eastside Community Trust, Heart of BS13 and Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust. It is supported by the Centre for Sustainable Energy and Bristol City Council.
Amy Harrison, Head of Community Partnerships at Bristol Green Capital Partnership, agreed that communities need to be an integral part of the environmental change that directly affects their daily life. She commented: “During the pandemic, Bristol’s community organisations proved how crucial they are when a city needs to respond to a crisis.
"The climate crisis is no exception. Bristol needs its diverse and dynamic community organisations to be at the heart of the city’s systemic transition to net zero.”
The next phase of the project will fund its expansion to more communities in Bristol, the development of six innovative community climate action projects covering a range of issues and enabling community climate action to be embedded in the city on a long term basis. The funding will enable a range of projects from a repair hub for mobility equipment to reduce waste to rewilding the estate of Lockleaze by transforming its greens and grass verges to encourage wildlife and support nature recovery.
Suzanne Wilson of Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust commented: "Really Wild Lockleaze will use 41 acres of grass verges and housing greens to create essential habitat for nature in the area. This will tackle the catastrophic decline of pollinators, respond to Bristol's ecological emergency and mitigate the impact of new housing developments in Lockleaze.
The first phase of the Bristol Community Climate Action project saw six community organisations co-produce the city’s first community climate action plans. These ambitious plans were developed by neighbourhoods experiencing inequality and disadvantage along with the communities of Disabled people and Refugees in the city.
A further 12 communities will also be supported to co-produce their own community climate plans. Leading climate action at a community level provides opportunities to improve the lives of local people and ensure the needs of Bristol’s diverse communities are better represented as the city feels the effects of a cost-of-living and energy crisis.
Emma Geen of Bristol Disability Equalities Forum said: "Disabled people are among those hit hardest by both the cost-of-living crisis and the climate crisis. Our repair hub for mobility equipment will be taking action on both. By including Disabled people from the start, climate action can improve our lives instead of creating new barriers."
Bristol Green Capital Partnership is hosting an official launch event at MShed on September 8 at 5.30pm.
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