Making Peterborough carbon neutral a ‘daunting challenge’ which will require ‘huge behavioural change’

But the major task over the next decade is one which excites Hannah Swinburne who has begun her new role at the city council at a time when the environment has never been more in the news.

The trained scientist with a PHD in biochemistry from Newcastle University comes to the city from Northumberland County Council tasked with making sure Peterborough meets its pledge to be carbon net-zero pledge by 2030.

And although she is speaking to the Peterborough Telegraph after just a fortnight in her job, she is clear about both the challenges and opportunities which are out there going forward.

She said: “Carbon neutral by 2030 is a massive challenge and something that’s going to need every single community, business and resident in Peterborough to help to deliver.

“There are many things that residents can do - the key thing is to realise that almost every single decision we make has a carbon impact.

“There are plenty of opportunities to make a difference and we will be asking residents to explore those opportunities.

“You could introduce vegetable or vegan meals into your diet, switch to a green energy tariff or choose to walk or cycle any journey under a certain distance.

“It’s important to share things you’ve done with friends and family and support each other to make further changes to reduce carbon emissions.

“There are a lot of benefits that come from decarbonising which the council prioritises. A more eco-efficient home reduces bills, more walking and cycling improves physical and mental health, less journeys by car improves air quality and building green infrastructure and shopping locally benefits the local economy and provides jobs.”

Ms Swinburne’s role will be to make sure current projects are going well and to identify new opportunities, including for funding.

She highlighted increasing numbers of electric car charging points as an area where Peterborough is doing well, with further scope to make improvements whether it be through taking advantage of the Government’s Green Homes Grant or encouraging residents and businesses to adopt green transport.

Explaining the challenge ahead, she said: “It does require a huge behavioural change. We will have to find innovative solutions to a lot of problems, but also eliminate emissions by changing our behaviour.

“It’s a daunting prospect but there are a lot of opportunities to encourage a different way of living. If 2020 has taught us nothing it’s that we can embrace large scale behaviour change.”

Going forward, the council hopes to engage more with residents, with an official forum to be set up for this to happen, while people can also email their thoughts to [email protected].

Ms Swinburne plans to establish a partnership group with local experts and key organisations to direct climate change going forward, adding: “Some of the strongest voices in the climate change debate have been children so we will be engaging with schools.”

She also said that government plans to install heat pumps rather than gas boilers could benefit the local workforce,

Moreover, Ms Swinburne believes people should consider the emissions both from a car’s production and from when it’s driven when deciding whether to purchase a new electric car.

She said: “The production of new cars creates a significant amount of carbon emissions and therefore when deciding to purchase a new car you should consider the emissions created over its lifetime, from both when it is produced and when it is driven. Currently, it is 30 per cent less carbon intensive to drive an electric car than a petrol car.”

Asked for her thoughts on Extinction Rebellion, she replied: “We should be listening to residents and encourage those who have thoughts and ideas on climate change to get in touch with us. In terms of their actions, I’m not sure it’s within my remit to judge.”

The coronavirus pandemic has led to the introduction of cycle lanes in the city centre, funded by government, and this is something the new principal climate change officer wants to see continue in the future.

She said: “Cycling needs to be adopted in a way that considers the use of roads for all users. This would need to be a planned out approach. I would expect to see cycle lanes in the city centre in the future.”

There are currently no plans for major schemes such as clean air zones, although these will be discussed as part of a cross-party working group of councillors.

As for aspiration to be the UK’s Environment Capital, she said: “Peterborough has the potential to be a truly sustainable city. A city which has a thriving local economy, strong communities and a sustainable way of life.

“A city where our residents are healthy, happy and prosperous. A city regarded as the UK’s Environment Capital.

“To achieve this we all need to do things differently. If everyone on Earth lived as the average Peterborian, British or European citizen does, we would need three planets’ worth of resources to sustain us.

“This means, on average, each of us is using too much of the world’s resources to produce the food we eat, treat the waste we produce and generate the energy we use.

“To put it simply, we only have one planet so creating the UK’s Environment Capital means that we aim to change the way we do things to ensure we can live within the resources of our planet.”