Foreword by the Devon Climate Emergency Response Group
In May 2019, the Devon Climate Emergency partnership formed to declare and respond to the climate and ecological emergency in Devon, including Plymouth and Torbay. Our members include public bodies representing the people of Devon, private sector interests, environmental organisations and academic institutions.
The partnership remains committed to taking a lead in the response to climate change, through our collective action, innovation and influence. We are, therefore, delighted to introduce the consultation draft of the Interim Devon Carbon Plan, produced at our invitation by the Net-Zero Task Force, who have generously volunteered their time and expertise. This Plan shows how we can deliver collectively on our ambition for a net-zero Devon.
The transformational change outlined through this ambitious document will be challenging, but it also highlights many new opportunities for Devon. The Plan requires investments, but the return on investment is clear for the climate, the environment and the health of Devon’s citizens, as well as for the many economic opportunities it presents.
Collaboration has been essential to the development of the Plan, with the input of much expertise by Devon’s citizens in the Thematic Hearings and in response to the Public Call for Evidence, from which the Plan has taken shape. The ongoing information sharing and collaboration of the partner organisations has also been valuable in informing the Plan.
The continued and widening engagement of Devon’s citizens with the Plan and its implementation is vital. Support is needed at all levels of society, as is recognition of its key message: that neither technology nor behaviour change alone is enough, both are needed. Our organisations and infrastructure must be transformed to enable and support citizens and employees to adopt net-zero carbon behaviours and lifestyles. The recent months are testament to our ability to change, when we make changes together.
The Plan puts Devon in a good position to realise the opportunities signposted by the Government’s recently announced, ‘Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution’. It is well aligned with the Interim Devon Carbon Plan, which goes further and into more detail.
We look forward to hearing the outcomes of the public consultation and, later next summer, the planned Citizens’ Assembly. Climate change and our response to it will affect all of us, but this is an opportunity for you to shape our response for the benefit of all.
Yours sincerely,
The Devon Climate Emergency Response Group
