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Walton Parish Council
Warrington

Environment

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This section of our website focuses on our environment as a whole and parish actions to enhance and protect it.

CLIMATE CHANGE ... and the need for local action.

In December 2021 Walton Parish Council voted to declare a climate emergency and this is in line with many other councils across the country.

What does declaring a climate emergency mean?

Declaring a climate emergency at a local level is an acceptance of the need to be proactive in helping to address the major issues of global warming. While climate change is a global issue, we believe that the actions that local communities take will have a cumulative impact. In short, we believe that we all need to do our bit to address climate change.

Did you know?...

There are parts of Lower Walton that are within flood risk areas and, according to Environmental Agency projections, will be increasing susceptible to flooding within the next 50 years.

What actions can be taken at a local level?

There are many well publicised actions that communities can take to help to address climate change by both working to reduce our carbon footprint, and increasing opportunities for carbon capture. We know that tree planting has an impact over time and in Walton we will looking at schemes that will enable us to plant more trees in our community.

Our Action Plan

We have started to work on a Climate & Ecology Action Plan which will provide a focus for our efforts over the coming weeks and months. Our Action Plan is a working document which means that our priorities and actions will evolve as opportunities present themselves. 

Our key priorities are as follows:

1. Helping the CO2 balance (actions to reduce CO2 production locally – for example by reducing energy consumption, and sequestering carbon via planting)

2. Taking local action to mitigate the impact of climate change (for example actions to address flooding and support ecological biodiversity, nature and wildlife)

3. Carrying out our role as a Council with a climate and ecology focus and acting as a local role model

There are plenty of resources available for councils and communities to draw upon for examples of how to address climate change. Here are some examples:

'Ways to Tackle Climate Change' : produced by DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs)

'What can Councils do on Climate Change', produced by the National Association of Local Councils


Get in touch!

Please get in touch if you have suggestions of your own for taking action locally to help address climate change. Please use our contact page.

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