Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees issued a stark warning to locals this evening as he pledged the council would half its use of pesticides.
The climate crisis and the city's action in response to it was a key focus of Mr Rees's annual 'State of City' speech tonight (October 20).
Mr Rees acknowledged the monumental effort put into fighting the coronavirus pandemic and how a similar response will be required to combat the “climate emergency”.
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He said: “If we pass the tipping point, there will be no hope for recovery.
“Weather chaos and disorder will feed on each other with rapidly worsening social, economic, and political consequences.”
The cost of decarbonising Bristol is nearly £10 billion, and this is part of the 200 plus billion package needed to de-carbonise the UK’s Core Cities and London.
Mr Rees stressed the importance of cities such as Bristol in response to the climate emergency, saying it will be “won or lost in cities”, which are home to over half of the world’s population.
He said: “We have worked with the city to agree and collectively commit to the ‘One City’ climate strategy and its 2030 carbon neutral and climate resilience targets.”
He went on to describe the city's Ecological Emergency Action Plan, launched last month and led by Avon Wildlife Trust in collaboration with 36 organisations.
The plan commits to:
- 30 percent of our land being managed for nature
- 50 percent reduction in the use of pesticides
- 100 percent of Bristol’s waterways being fit to support healthy wildlife
- Reduction of products that undermine the health of wildlife and ecosystems
Mr Rees said the council has also invested £42 million in retrofitting council-owned homes, so that 99 percent of publicly owned homes have double glazing and 98 percent have insulated cavity walls.
In line with the One City Plan goal to double the tree canopy by 2046, the council has also planted 70,000 new trees after over 9,000 were planted last year, including Bristol’s first mini forest in Southmead.
Bristol City Funds has invested £750,000 in Ambition Lawrence Weston’s wind turbine, which will provide renewable energy to over 4,000 homes.
Mr Rees also said the city is installing a zero-carbon water source heat pump in Castle Park which will heat 1,000 council homes and Castle Park View.
“We’ve invested £22 million in renewable energy projects and low carbon heat networks," he said.
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