Meeting the challenge of climate change in positive ways, meaningful and lasting for Stoke-on-Trent - Elected Mayor

“I intend to meet the challenge of climate change in ways that are positive, meaningful and lasting for Stoke-on-Trent” - Elected Mayor of the City of Stoke-on-Trent

Green Paper summary leaflet PDF

Green Paper full version PDF

Step 1
The Elected Mayor publishes a Green Paper. This draft policy
document sets out a number of proposals and how these
might be carried out on the ground.

Step 2
The Elected Mayor invites local people to tell him, within a
set time period, what they think about the Green Paper
proposals.

Step 3
The Elected Mayor considers all comments carefully. He
presents a report, summarising the comments and describing
how it’s proposed to use them to make better policies.

Step 4
In some cases your comments will be used directly to
amend or introduce new council policies. In others, they’ll
help the council improve the way it makes policies over the
mid-to-long term.

Climate Change is a Major Challenge

Climate change is probably the single most important long-term issue people have to face - globally and in stoke-on-trent. Our planet has constantly experienced climate change, often violent and caused by natural forces - but scientists now tell us that recent climate change is caused by human activity. The effects are visible and widespread and if we don’t take early, co-ordinated action to deal with these changes, our planet may eventually be unable to support us.

When non-renewable fuels like coal and oil are burned, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases build up in the atmosphere. This leads to a rise in the Earth’s average temperature. Scientists predict that the UK’s average annual temperature will be 5ºC higher by 2100. This will create a greater need for air conditioning in homes and workplaces.

Other major effects include:

• Wetter winters, leading to increased flood risk.
• Drier summers, and a greater likelihood of extreme high temperatures.
• Rising sea levels, leading to more coastal erosion and a greater risk of flooding.
• Disruption to economic and social activity, leading to economic decline.

If current emission levels continue, scientific evidence suggests that the impact of climate change will be irreversible. What we do now may have a limited effect on our climate over the next 40 or 50 years - but it could have a profound effect on climate change in the second half of this century and the lives of our children and grandchildren.