Responding to the Climate Emergency in the Vale of Glamorgan

In July 2019, we joined Welsh Government and other Local Authorities across the UK in declaring a global Climate Emergency.

The declaration was made in response to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report into the impact of global warming.

It is estimated that if the planet’s temperature rises by just 2 degrees celsius, there will be increased and more extreme global weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, flooding, winter storms, hurricanes and wildfires.

For the Vale of Glamorgan, this could mean heightened risk of flooding from storms and sea level rise, loss of unique species, water shortages and drought.

Responding to the Emergency

The Council has been working to address Climate Change over a number of years, from the fitting of solar panels on Council buildings to the installation of LED bulbs in streetlights. Reducing the organisation’s carbon footprint has been a key priority.

It is recognised, however, that these things on their own are not enough to tackle the Climate Emergency. The Climate Emergency will have an impact on everyone across the Vale of Glamorgan. Addressing the emergency will require all levels of society - the public sector, businesses and citizens - to work together to address how we use energy, travel, recycle, shop and live.

Letter from the Leader of the Council on our response

Have your say

Across the Vale, we've already undertaken a lot of work to begin to address the emergency, such as the introduction of the first net-zero in use carbon schools in Wales. The Council is now working on a Climate Change Action Plan for the Vale. The Plan will set out our agenda to address the Climate Emergency, set on reducing our carbon emissions to net zero before 2030.

Over the next month, the Council will be hosting a Climate Conversation. This will share some of the work currently in the pipeline, as well as continue the conversation on what more we could be doing or that we could do differently.

Alongside the ongoing conversation on our social media platforms, you can also have your say by taking a short survey or by completing a Climate Conversation postcard. Both can be used to share your suggestions.

Climate Change Survey

Climate Conversation Postcard

Learning Café x Climate Emergency

Shaping the Climate Change Action PlanColleagues from across the Council have been meeting as part of a Learning Café x Climate Emergency workshop series to discuss our response to the Climate Emergency.

You can find out more about what was discussed during the sessions below.

Learning Café x Climate Emergency