Call for York to take the Green Street Challenge
Posted on 5 June 2009
The York Green Street Challenge is a joint project between the City of York Council, York Environment Partnership and the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York.
We see this has a fun way to engage people on green issues while, at the same time, saving money and reducing their impact on the planet
Dr Gary Haq
The 15-month campaign funded by the Without Walls Partnership Local Authority Delivery Fund will be co-ordinated by the Stockholm Environment Institute. It will provide a comprehensive assessment of York’s carbon footprint and the city’s contribution to national carbon dioxide emissions – the key gas responsible for climate change.
The campaign will identify neighbourhoods which could do more to reduce their carbon emissions, and challenge them to take part in a city-wide competition to achieve a measurable reduction in their carbon footprint.
Green Street challenge coordinator, Dr Gary Haq, of the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York, said: “We aim to raise awareness of what people can do to reduce their carbon footprint and encourage neighbourhoods and streets to form green teams to take part in a city-wide challenge to reduce their collective carbon footprint.
“We see this has a fun way to engage people on green issues while, at the same time, saving money and reducing their impact on the planet. We expect that up to ten neighbourhood teams will take part in the challenge to gain the title as the “Greenest Street in York.”
Michael Slater, Chair of the Environment Partnership said: “By making changes today to live a more sustainable lifestyle, we can collectively help to create a more sustainable York for everyone in the future. We hope that this campaign will make it easy and fun for residents to do their bit and help to create a green street where they live.”
The neighbourhoods eligible to take part in the challenge will be announced in late summer and streets in these areas will be encouraged to submit a team.
For further information see www.climatetalk.org.uk
ENDSNotes to editors:
- The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) is an international, independent environment and development research institute. It is a part of an international network or centres with the York centre based at the University of York.
- World Environment Day is the United Nations event celebrated worldwide every year on the 5 June. This year the theme is ‘Your Planet Needs You-UNite to Combat Climate Change'. It reflects the urgency for nations to agree on a new deal at the crucial climate convention meeting in Copenhagen some 180 days later in the year, and the links with overcoming poverty and improved management of forests.
- ‘Without Walls’ is a group of people who are working together to develop a shared vision and look at ways to improve quality of life for people in the city. This partnership (officially the Local Strategic Partnership or LSP) is made up of representatives of public, voluntary and business organisations in York. Partners include the police, council, health, voluntary agencies and local businesses.
- The result of their work is the Sustainable Community Strategy, based around seven ‘themes’ - areas we want to concentrate on to improve the quality of life for everyone in the city over the next twenty years or so.
The themes are:- A Sustainable City
- A Thriving City
- A Learning City
- A City Of Culture
- A Safer City
- A Healthy City
- An Inclusive City
- The partnership responsible for the Sustainable City chapter of the Sustainable Community Strategy is the Environment Partnership. This partnership’s aim is to reduce our impact on the environment while maintaining York’s special qualities and enabling the city and its communities to grow and thrive. It is also currently creating a climate change strategy and action plan for York.
Contact details
Dr Gary Haq
Tel 01904 432917