Plant a tree with us to help tackle climate change and create a COP26 legacy

With the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) starting this week, the Council is following developments with a keen eye, and looking at how we can continue to take action to further reduce our impact on the planet.

The Council declared a climate emergency in May 2019, which commits us to take urgent action to address the causes of climate change across North Herts.

To help mark COP26 and the Council’s commitment to act, Councillor Steve Jarvis, Executive Member for the Environment and Leisure, planted a special maple tree today, Friday 5 November, at Baldock Road Recreation Ground, Letchworth.

The planting also marks the beginning of the Council’s 10,000 tree giveaway – residents can join us in improving local biodiversity and air quality, and fighting against climate change by registering for their very own tree sapling to grow and nurture at home.

If you have a suitable place to plant a tree, set back from roads, boundaries and buildings so they're not a nuisance as they grow, please email Green.Space@north-herts.gov.uk Please include:

• your full name, postal address and email address
• whether you would like a sapling for a small, medium or large space.

All tree saplings are native to the UK and deciduous (they will shed their leaves each year) and although we cannot take requests, species will include field maple, silver birch, sweet cherry and hazel.

Councillor Steve Jarvis, Executive Member for Environment and Leisure, said: “We should all be working on reducing our carbon emissions as much as possible. The Council is taking this issue very seriously and we have already switched to renewable electricity and green gas in our buildings, reduced the amount that staff need to travel and we have started switching to ultra low emission vehicles and improving energy efficiency.

“I am passionate about changing our behaviours to make a real difference – whether that be leaving the car at home and walking or cycling instead, turning off lights and installing energy efficiency measures, or restoring our natural habitats and ecosystems through rewilding. We all know about recycling but it’s also about going further and looking at what we consume – especially single-use items – questioning do we really need it, and repurposing and repairing where we can.”

What is COP26?

The ‘conference of parties’ is an annual, global climate summit, brought together by the United Nations (UN). This year the conference is taking place in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November. Heads of state, climate experts and campaigners have come together to discuss and agree coordinated action to tackle climate change. There are 197 parties taking part and it’s the 26th meeting to take place, the first was in 1995 (there wasn’t a conference last year due to the Covid pandemic).

This year’s conference is especially important because of an increasing consensus that globally, we are not on track to hit greenhouse gas reduction targets and therefore global temperatures could rise above safe levels if this is not addressed.

COP26 is seen as a chance for governments around the world to agree to increase their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent irreversible climate change. Individual countries cannot achieve this aim on their own, so working together is our best chance to forge an international consensus to become net zero and tackle worsening climate change.

What is net zero?

Net zero is usually considered to mean the same as carbon neutral – ensuring that any greenhouse gas emissions released are captured or removed, so that greenhouse gasses are not added to the atmosphere.

We need to achieve net zero if we want to tackle climate change and protect the planet and its people. The UK has set a target of being net zero by 2050. North Herts Council aims to achieve carbon neutrality for all its operations by 2030 and we have set a target to achieve a net zero carbon district by 2040.

What has the Council done since declaring a climate emergency?

We have worked with partners across the county on a number of projects, as well as on what we can do as a Council to reduce the environmental impact of our services and encourage our communities to do more. Some of our work so far means we have:  

• switched to renewable electricity and green gas in our buildings
• eliminated single-use plastics from our leisure centres and swimming pools
• installed nine new on-street recycling bins in Royston
• allowed urban wild meadow areas to grow over the summer
• delivered new cycle stands by working with Hertfordshire County Council.
• held Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) collection events to reuse and recycle residents’ unwanted, old and broken electrical items
• replaced our community safety vehicles with hybrid, ultra low emission vehicles.

What else is the Council doing?

We’ve established a Climate Change strategy, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions to meet our net zero targets – for council operations to be carbon neutral by 2030, and the district by 2040. We are also part of the Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership, working with partners across the county on issues such as carbon reduction, transport and water, as well as biodiversity which we lead on. There are significant opportunities to preserve and enhance the existing natural environment of the county, as well as to deliver new natural habitats.  

Sustainability forms part of our revised vision and ‘our environment’ is the first key theme of our new Council Plan, 2022-2027. We are far-sighted and will plan for the long term to secure the best possible outcomes – we recognise the challenges our towns and district face and are committed to delivering services which are relevant and sustainable. In doing so we will place our environmental responsibilities, as well as sound financial planning, at the centre of our policy making.

North Herts is home to vital chalk streams and grasslands, ancient hedgerows and woodlands, and parts of the west of our district fall into the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. We all have a duty to protect and care for these environments.

What projects is the Council working on?

As above we are working to our Climate Change strategy and with partners across the county to reduce the environmental impact of our services. Specifically we will:

• continue replacing council vehicles with ultra low emission vehicles and begin transition to zero emission vehicles from 2025
• provide more electric car charging points in our car parks
• reduce our staff travel emissions by increasing homeworking and video-conferencing
• ensure we are well-prepared to help developers meet a new mandatory 10% biodiversity net gain target (this means they will have to replace any biodiversity that is lost as a result of their development, plus add 10% of what previously existed on the site)
• ensure new developments are designed to encourage walking and cycling
• continue to work towards creating a better cycle network in North Herts
• run food waste awareness and waste reduction programmes
• change grass verge cutting regimes to allow more plant species to grow
• support community tree planting initiatives.

How can I get involved?

As Cllr Jarvis says, there are lots of things individuals can do to reduce their impact on the environment and help tackle climate change – follow us on social media for regular helpful hints and tips.

You can also plant a tree! See the details at the top of this page.