Elgin Climate Change Goals

Elgin Community Council

Moray Council made a Climate Emergency Declaration on the 26th of June 2019, which included a target to become carbon neutral by 2030. In response to climate Change, Elgin Community Council looked at what it could do to support the Moray Council’s goals.

The islands in the boating pond in Cooper Park once looked like the British Isles at one end and Greenland at the other. It should be iced over but it isn’t… At that scale we should have icebergs half the size of the pond! Anyway, we identified areas where we would like to see improvements in policy or behaviors:—

  1. Air Quality
    1. Vehicle Pollution
    2. Reduce engine idling in cars
    3. Request Timer on level crossing
    4. Reduce idling of trains
    5. Reduce idling of buses
    6. Report polluting vehicles
  2. Support “clean” development
    1. Promote in Local Plan consultation.
    2. Promote in planning application consultations
  3. Carbon Neutral
    1. Reduce power consumption
    2. Check out Resource Efficient Scotland
    3. Switch off something now!
  4. Offset carbon footprint
    1. Planting trees possibly on flood banks or common good land
    2. Planting food and flowers
  5. Sustainability
    1. Reduce printing
    2. Go digital where possible
    3. Display agenda not print
    4. Reduce paper – Write less print less
  6. Car Share
    1. Car share for ECC journeys
  7. Reduce Reuse Recycle
    1. Recycle grass cuttings from community group – eg composting or biomass
    2. Reduce single use plastic
    3. Reduce water wastage
    4. Don’t encourage consumerism type consumption

We thought about how we might support, inform and influence changes:—

  1. Inform
    1. This Website,
    2. Meeting agenda and minutes,
  2. Influence
    1. Respond to consultations
    2. Promote our goals at events
    3. Hold relevant open meetings.
  3. Change Behaviour
    1. Lead by example
    2. Direct intervention
    3. Engage with relevant organisations eg taxi operators, bus companies, etc
  4. ECC groups, committees, partners and contacts
    1. Air Quality Group
    2. Planning
      1. Influence consultation on town centre
    3. Licensing
    4. Roads &Transportation
    5. SPICE
    6. REAP
    7. Allotment Association

Hopefully over time we can define these better and record something of what we have achieved. Some of it will just be about making personal choices.