Conservative led Wiltshire Council has received an excellent rating of 81% in Climate Emergency UK's Council Climate Plan Scorecards, ranking it as the fifth best unitary authority in the UK for its response to climate change.
The scorecards are a wholly independent assessment of the climate plans and strategies of councils around the country, with each council being rated against nine different categories, including governance; engagement and communications; setting targets and more.
Wiltshire scored maximum points for the community, engagement and communications; ecological emergency; and co-benefits criteria, and also scored highly across the other categories to receive an overall rating of 81%. The average rating for unitary authorities was 50%. The council's two key environmental strategies - the Climate Strategy and Wiltshire's Natural Environment Plan, will be considered by Full Council on 15 February for final approval and adoption.
Conservative Cllr Nick Botterill, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, said:
We're delighted that we've received this excellent Council Climate Plan Scorecard rating, which is a ringing endorsement of our measured and serious approach to the issue.
We're rated as the top scoring rural unitary authority, which shows we're on the right track, and is vindication for all of the hard work we've been putting in to reduce our carbon emissions as we move towards becoming carbon neutral as a council by 2030.
We've had a very positive response to our recent consultations on our Climate Strategy and Wiltshire's Natural Environment Plan. The strategies set out the next five years of our action to tackle climate change and improve the natural environment in the county, and will be taken to Full Council next month.
We recognise that there is more to do, but as this scoring shows, we're making huge progress and leading the way when it comes to tackling climate change.
To see the full Council Climate Plan Scorecards, people should go to Council Climate Plan Scorecards.
