4.0 A key priority for delivering ‘The One Coventry Plan’
4.1 Recently the City Council launched its One Coventry Plan 2022 – 2030 which identifies three key areas to address:
- Increasing the economic prosperity of the City and region
- Improving outcomes and tackling inequalities within our communities
- Tackling the Causes and consequences of climate change
4.2 It is worth noting that this Climate Change Strategy will play a significant role in assisting the delivery of all three of the above objectives and not just the tackling of the causes and consequences of climate change it also addresses wider sustainability issues.
4.3 Sustainability is often considered to be all about the environment when in fact it is also as focused on tackling economic and social issues as well as environmental and sustainable development is about addressing those three areas in an integrated way.
4.4 Increase economic prosperity: In 2019 the UK Parliament passed legislation to commit the UK to reducing net emissions of greenhouse gases by 100% by 2050. Reaching net zero will require significant changes right across the economy, there will be a need for substantial levels of investment in developing the new technologies and business activities to improve the efficiency of use of raw materials and energy and to minimise waste and pollution.
4.5 The UK’s Climate Change Committee estimates that the UK will need to invest £1.4 trillion between 2020 to 2050 to reach Net Zero. Official estimates suggest that the UK’s green economy already supports 200.000 to 400,000 jobs and that growth in the green economy could grow to between 1.4 and 2.5 million jobs in total (source: Green Growth: Opportunities for the UK a report for the Lloyds Banking Group July 2021). The areas of activity identified in the Low Emissions and Circular Economy Sections of the strategy are the ones most likely to contribute to the increased economic prosperity whilst the Resilience activities would help to safeguard areas from economic loss.
4.6 Tackling Inequalities: Diminishing resources and rising costs of the essentials in life such as fuel, food, transport and shelter are becoming an increasing burden especially upon the most disadvantaged in society. A growing number of people especially the unemployed or those on low incomes are now living in poverty when they did not before.
4.7 The UN’s 10th Sustainable development goal is focused on tackling inequalities, many people in the UK who live in the priority neighbourhoods are subjected to higher levels of pollution and are more likely to suffer from respiratory illnesses. An inability to afford better insulation in their homes results in fuel poverty and a risk of suffering a range of long-term health conditions as a result cardio-vascular disease, respiratory illness, impacts upon mental health, hypothermia for the elderly in winter months. Access to fresh food also affects health and the cost of food and availability of fresh food in deprived areas is decidedly less resulting in increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes etc.
4.8 Accessibility also differs across the City and in comparison to many other cities Coventry has a higher percentage of the population that do not have access to a private motor vehicle placing increasing importance on the value of and importance of public transport and promoting active travel to provide opportunities for access to leisure, jobs and services.
4.9 This Strategy aims to address the environmental wider determinants of health. In addition to the growth in the local economy the proposed areas of work in the Equitable and Person Centred and the Nature Based Sections of the Strategy will help to address these issues and also promote health as outlined in the Government’s Marmot Review.
