Watford Council adopts 100 new climate change actions

Councillors have passed a new climate change strategy including one hundred new actions to help the town reach net zero by 2030 or earlier.

The strategy and delivery plan – known fully as ‘Watford’s Environmental Strategy: Addressing the Climate and Ecological Emergency’ – focuses on making Watford a low carbon, nature positive, environmentally sustainable borough, and sets out the journey to achieve this.

It covers six themes including: leading by example, people power, achieving net zero, nature and ecological restoration, responsible resource use and adapting to change. It also features a section on governance, demonstrating how sustainability is being integrated into the council, how it will be reported, and the importance of it.

Councillor Mark Hofman, who chaired a task group that helped to produce the report, said: “The strategy will position the council as a place leader. And more importantly, a town that has clean air, tree lined streets and parks, clean rivers, zero waste to landfill, energy efficient buildings, EV chargers for anyone who needs it, and our homes, workplaces and public buildings powered by renewable energy.

“Achieving the targets will be challenging; it will require a whole-organisation and whole-borough commitment to ensure delivery by 2030.

“It will require all of us, residents, council officers, local businesses, politicians, religious groups and charities to work together to lead our local response to this global crisis.”

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