An action plan setting out how Northumberland County Council will meet its ambitious new climate-change targets should be in place by Christmas.
That was the pledge as the cabinet declared a climate emergency and vowed to half the authority's carbon footprint by 2025 as well as making Northumberland carbon-neutral by 2030 at its meeting on Tuesday.
As reported last week , the council reduced its carbon emissions by a third between 2010 and 2018, but is now ramping up its efforts.
However, the administration is clear that practical actions are needed to make this more than just "warm words".
And the cabinet also agreed that the council "produces a comprehensive and costed action plan for the next three years that clearly demonstrates the initial phase of delivery".
An expanded steering group for climate change, with representatives of a number of different organisations, will be responsible for coming up with these measures and Coun Glen Sanderson, the cabinet member for the environment , said that the action plan will be completed by Christmas.
"There's a great deal we will be doing and we will be keeping this issue in front of the council," he added. "I know all councillors feel equally as strongly as we do.
"We did think carefully about the word emergency, which is a strong word, but this is definitely an emergency for our planet.
"We have listened to young people and we are quite happy to use the strongest terminology to get this to the top of the agenda."
Council leader Peter Jackson said: "We are bringing this report forward to show we are taking this seriously, but also as a call to action.
"To say to the next generation that we are not going to take this lightly at all and we are going to make a significant difference to the way we take the authority and county forward.
"We are acting as community leaders here; we are going to come up with an action plan of practical actions, but it's a challenge to every resident and business in the county to think about their impact too."
The report to councillors was accompanied by a 14-page statement of intent, which outlines how the authority is looking across everything it does to make changes, from reducing carbon emissions to digital connectivity, procurement to the planning system, recycling to renewable energy.
Executive director of place, Paul Johnston, said the target of halving the council's carbon emissions is realistic in what is a large, rural county, pointing out that to go beyond that will rely on movement in technology, for example, for the council's fleet of vehicles.
Coun Nick Oliver said: "This is a fantastic report, showing real local leadership and showing how we are getting our house in order."
He highlighted the promotion of Blyth as an international leader for the offshore wind industry and the reintroduction of passenger rail services on the Northumberland to Newcastle line as key initiatives.
Coun Richard Wearmouth added: "Northumberland is so reliant on the climate - our farmers, our tourism, our beaches, everything here in our beautiful and green county.
"The county council has got a track record already in helping to combat climate change and seeing the path we can take to improve it further, this has not just happened in the last few months."
