City may join leaders of climate campaign

Jan 14 2009 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

A DECISION will be taken today on signing a pledge which would commit a city to cutting carbon emissions by more than 20%.

Sunderland City Council’s cabinet is being recommended to approve the signing of the European Commission’s Covenant of Mayors.

The agreement is an ambitious EU initiative which seeks to bring together the mayors of Europe’s most pioneering cities in a permanent network to exchange and apply good practices to improve energy efficiency and promote low-carbon business and economic development.

The Association of North East Councils has invited all councils to consider signing the Covenant of Mayors to raise the region’s profile in Europe. Signing would commit Sunderland to submitting a sustainable energy action plan to the EU within a year, setting out proposed actions to reduce emissions by more than 20% by 2020, with implementation reports at least every two years.

The covenant is a legally binding document and Sunderland would be expelled if no action plan or reports in two successive periods were not submitted or if the city failed to meet the emissions reduction target. Sunderland has also recently signed the Eurocities Declaration on Climate Change, after the adoption last November of Sunderland’s climate change action plan up to 2022.

The action plan already estimates that a 19% reduction in carbon emissions can be achieved by 2022, and is aiming for 26%.