Environment and Climate Emergency declaration, five years on

15 July 2024

Mersey Park pollinator site in bloom - August 2023

On the fifth anniversary of Wirral’s declaration of an Environment and Climate Emergency, members of the committee that has been overseeing the council’s response is meeting to debate the progress made since – and actions still to be done.

In the wake of making the momentous declaration on July 15th 2019, Wirral Council developed its Environment and Climate Emergency Action Plan with the ambition of the organisation becoming ‘net carbon zero’ by 2030.

This in turn would contribute significantly to a wider aim under the Wirral ‘Cool 2’ strategy of achieving that across the borough by 2041.

Members of the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee has received annual progress reports since the declaration of the emergency which contains details of actions and recommendations that are designed to reduce carbon emissions, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and demonstrate that Wirral Council remains committed to delivering on its stated aims within the action plan and the ‘Cool 2’ strategy.

The report sets out a list of achievements over the last five years that show some of the progress that has been made, which includes:-

Replacing 25,037 streetlights with LED, cutting emissions by 60% per year.
Installing 53 electric vehicle charge points throughout the borough.
Developing a tree, woodland and hedgerow strategy and planting more than 85,000 trees since 2020.
Installing solar panels on 22 buildings generating approximately 388,000kWh annually
Delivering an Eco schools programme to 53 Green Flag schools.
Developing a pollinator strategy and creating 65 dedicated pollinator sites to protect bees, butterflies and other pollinators.
Having nearly 400 staff completing carbon literacy training with 206 being registered as carbon literate.

Cool 2 is the strategy put together by the Cool Wirral Partnership (formerly the Wirral Climate Change Group) which co-ordinates local action on climate change. The partnership is supported by Wirral Council and meets three times a year.

A variety of organisations participate, including: