Peterborough climate change witness session to be held online

The authority’s Climate Change Cross Party Working Group will be holding interviews relating to trees on Thursday, July 15, from 3pm.

And residents interested in following the proceedings can do so through the council’s YouTube page.

Among those confirmed to be giving presentations are: the Forestry Commission, Peterborough Environment City Trust and Urban Forestry.

The cross-party city council group was established to provide recommendations to the Conservative Cabinet following the declaration of a climate emergency which committed the authority to become carbon neutral by 2030.

The group has helped produce an action plan for the council, but all of its meetings have been held in private.

However, in March the council voted to require evidence gathering sessions of working group meetings to be held in public, unless the subject matter is “sensitive in nature”.

The climate change working group has “agreed that its terms of reference should reflect this” and will now hold evidence gathering sessions with key witnesses in public, unless the subject matter is considered to be of a sensitive nature.

Next Thursday’s meeting will be the first witness session to be held in public.