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Council Borough cuts carbonPrint

Newcastle-upon-Tyne is undergoing a metamorphosis thanks to some acclaimed green initiatives.

Once perceived as a soot-covered industrial city, the Tyneside metropolis is reinventing itself as a green powerhouse for change, with lofty plans of being the world's first carbon neutral city and is looking at reducing its  CO2 and other greenhouse emissions significantly. [1]

Carbon neutral: surely that's a touch over-ambitious? Not according to the Forum for the Future, a non-profit organisation that promotes green development, which seems to think the city is doing a good job - because,

In 2010*, the organisation picked Newcastle for the second year running over several southern favourites and honoured it as the most sustainable city in Britain. Newcastle has drawn up a comprehensive Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan that it's hoping will pave its way to iconic environmental status.[2]


The green brick road

The Forum for the Future has praised Newcastle for striking a healthy balance in the sustainability mix,[3] but Liberal Democrat council leader John Shipley is particularly proud of the city's transport innovations.[4] And considering that Tyneside Metro boasts one of the biggest underground networks outside London, as well as an extensive integrated transport system, who can blame him?   

The city's efforts are paying off. Since its launch in 2003, the Carbon Neutral Newcastle campaign has managed to reduce the city's CO2 emissions by an impressive 55,000 tonnes per year.[5]

 

Plug into the future

Newcastle is also making impressive changes on the roads. The government-backed  Charge your Car project was launched in North East England in 2010 and by 2013, the North East region will be home to over 1,300 charging points at key locations on streets, in car parks, and at residential and commercial locations such as retail and leisure facilities.


"Cities with an industrial heritage face genuine challenges," explains Forum for the Future Chief Executive, Peter Madden, "but Newcastle's success shows that it is possible to overcome the legacy of the past and perform well on many measures of sustainability. We hope it will inspire other cities to redouble their efforts."

Sources

[1] 'We are working towards our goal of making Newcastle the first Carbon Neutral City in the world'
Information Source: Newcastle City Council, Environment and Sustainability 2010
 
[2] Newcastle has drawn up a comprehensive Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan that it's hoping will pave its way to iconic environmental status.
Information Source: Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (2008)

[3] The Forum for the Future has praised Newcastle for striking a healthy balance in the sustainability mix - 'Newcastle has won because it does fairly well across the whole set of indicators we use to capture a balanced picture of cities' sustainability, with no particular area of weakness'
Information Source:  Forum for the Future, Balance makes Newcastle Britain's most sustainable city

[4] Council leader John Shipley is particularly proud of the city's transport innovations: "As part of our co-ordinated commitment to tackling climate change, we are leading the way in transport innovation as we seek to reduce CO2 emissions and prepare ourselves for a low carbon economy."
Information Source: Liberal Democrats, Newcastle beats southern rivals to title of UK's most sustainable city
 
[5] Since its launch in 2003, the Carbon Neutral Newcastle campaign has managed to reduce the city's CO2 emissions by an impressive 55,000 tonnes per year.
Information Source: Newcastle City Council, Environment and Sustainability

Team Green Britain and London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Ltd (LOCOG) do not endorse any of the products, companies, organisations, opinions or websites that have been mentioned in this article. The content of this article has merely been provided as background to, or discussion on, various topical issues relating to the environment and it is not necessarily representative of the views of Team Green Britain and LOCOG. Further, any figures and calculations noted in this article are estimates (unless otherwise specified), and may vary in light of numerous factors and readers are advised to undertake their own research in relation to the facts and figures applicable to their particular circumstance. Certain facts and figures shown have been sourced from third parties. Team Green Britain has not verified information sourced from third parties and Team Green Britain cannot take responsibility for the accuracy of these facts and figures.

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