Knowsley turns up the heat in the battle against climate change

Jun 9 2009 By Knowsley Council

Knowsley Council is intensifying its efforts to go green and protect the planet.

The authority has already taken action to save energy and cut back on the so-called greenhouse gases that can lead to a rise in the world’s temperature.

Now they have employed a team of independent consultants to look at how the council and its private and public sector partners could do more to  produce energy that is low carbon and renewable.

The project team will produce a long term plan, looking at what can be achieved over the next ten to fifteen years.  It will build on the authority’s existing Climate Change Strategy and commitments made to assess the feasibility of increasing renewable energy in council buildings.  It will also feed into the development of a borough-wide Climate Change Strategy for the Local Strategic Partnership.

The consultants, Ove Arup and Partners (Arup), will look at options such as wind power, solar, the use of biomass fuels, energy efficiency and energy recovery.

These provide alternatives to fossil fuels such as coal and oil which produce most of the man-made carbon dioxide that traps the earth’s heat, causing temperatures to rise.

Arup will liaise with businesses in the borough as well as many key stakeholders such as Knowsley Community College and Whiston Hospital, and agencies in the Knowsley Partnership such as Knowsley Housing Trust.

Arup will be reporting back in the summer and the initiative is being headed up by Knowsley’s Directorate of Regeneration, Economy and Skills (DRES)

Cllr Morgan, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Economy and Skills said: "By assessing the options for increasing uses of renewable energy and working with our partners across the borough, we can ensure that the suggested solutions are practical and possible.”

“Finding alternative sources of heat and energy is a crucial step in preventing dangerous changes to our climate.”

Knowsley’s Executive Director for DRES, Nick Kavanagh, said: “The Government has stated that climate change is the greatest long-term challenge facing the world today. At Knowsley we take our responsibility for addressing climate change seriously.”

“We are already taking action to reduce carbon emissions but we need to do more and everyone in the borough, from residents to businesses, must also play their part.”

“This study it will help us to determine how we can achieve that in the future. “