Essex Climate Action Commission consultation

Overview

Public consultation on the Essex Climate Action Commission's recommendations for action on climate change for the county of Essex

Who we are

The Essex Climate Action Commission was set up in 2020 to advise on what Essex could do to tackle climate change.

The Commission has over 30 members. They include a Lord, local councillors, academics, business people and two members of the Young Essex Assembly. Find out more about the commissioners from their biographies.

The Commission is chaired by Lord Randall and two co-chairs from the Young Essex Assembly.

The Commission will run for two years initially and make recommendations about how the environment and the economy of Essex can be improved.

The UK climate has already changed, the sea level is rising, and further change by 2050 is inevitable. Essex, along with other parts of East Anglia, will see hotter summers, water shortages and the degradation of agricultural land unless large-scale, ambitious interventions are introduced.

The Commission will make recommendations on how best the county can reach the government’s target of net zero by 2050.

Net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can often be confused with net-zero carbon emissions, but when accurately used, means all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to as near to zero as possible.

Net-zero carbon is calculated in the same way as net zero GHGs, however only includes anthropogenic CO2.

Role of the Commission

The Essex Climate Action Commission will:

• identify ways where we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, make sure that we are able to deal with the effects of climate change, improve air quality, reduce waste across Essex and increase the amount of green spaces and biodiversity in the county
• explore how we attract investment in our environment and low carbon growth

The Commission has looked at six different subject areas in relation to climate change:

1. Adapting to an already changing climate
2. Transport
3. Built Environment
4. Energy and Waste
5. Land Use and Green Infrastructure
6. Community Engagement

Special Interest Groups were established for each of the subject areas. These were made up of small groups of between six and ten commissioners with a specific interest in each subject area. Each group met on a number of occasions to collate and review evidence in each area and develop recommendations for changes in Essex. These recommendations were then presented back to the full Commission at a series of meetings over the last year. Recordings of these meetings are available on the Commission’s webpage.

In November 2020 the Commission published its Interim Report (PDF, 8.04MB), with the final report due to be published in the summer of 2021.

You can find further information on the Commission's terms of reference and workplan on the website.

Why your views matter

We would like to understand the views of Essex residents on a selection of the recommendations the Commission will make to help Essex become better able to deal with increased climate risks such as flooding and overheating and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to become a net-zero county by 2050.

Please read the summary of the Commission’s recommendations - which can be downloaded at the bottom of this page - before completing the consultation survey. 

What will happen next?        

The feedback received from the survey will be independently analysed and summarised in the Commission’s Final Report, due to be published in the summer.

The consultation report will be made available on ECC’s consultation portal at consultations.essex.gov.uk and in accessible formats on request.

Other formats and languages                                                  

• If you have any queries about the Essex Climate Action Commission or this consultation please contact climate.commission@essex.gov.uk 
• If you require a paper copy of the survey, due to COVID-19 this can only be sent via email for printing off as ECC staff are currently working remotely
• If you would like the questionnaire in another format (such as Large Print, audio version, Easy Read or Braille) or in an alternative language, please contact us at climate.commission@essex.gov.uk

What happens next

The feedback received from the survey will be independently analysed and summarised in the Commission's Final Report, due to be published in the summer.

The consultation report will be made available on ECC’s consultation portal at consultations.essex.gov.uk and in accessible formats on request.