Last month Brighton & Hove’s first ever climate assembly completed the last of its five sessions on transport.
You can now watch the presentations to the assembly from expert speakers on our website.
Brighton & Hove’s climate assembly, facilitated by Ipsos Mori, is one of the first climate assemblies in the country to be hosted virtually.
The assembly members - a group of 50 residents randomly selected by the Sortition Foundation focused on the question: How can we step up actions to reduce transport-related emissions in the city?
Together they learned about climate issues for transport, discussed them with one another, and decided what they thought should be the priority actions for the city.
The Climate Assembly’s recommendations will be published on 11 January.
In each of the sessions there were presentations from expert speakers, followed by the chance of a Q & A session between assembly members and the presenters and finally a facilitated discussion on the topics between assembly members.
The assembly members heard from experts over a range of subjects, with the topics covered including an in depth look at the current transport network, actions other authorities have taken to reduce carbon emissions and the public health impacts from climate change.
Take a look at what the assembly has been doing and share your views on our online platform. Help make Brighton & Hove carbon neutral by 2030.
Crucial part in the change we need to see
Councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty, co-chair of the Carbon Neutral 2030 working group, said: “I would like to thank everyone who took part in the climate assembly, your contribution to tackling the climate and biodiversity crises and making the city a greener place, will play a crucial part in the change we need to see in Brighton & Hove.
"There is an emergency and we must play our part in this global challenge.
“It was a privilege to watch as residents deliberated over these crucial issues. A report bringing together all of the findings will now guide action for current and future generations.
“There was amazing interest in the Assembly and many residents sadly couldn’t take part but I would urge all residents to have a look at the new dedicated climate assembly web pages. These allow this important debate to continue and contain many expert insights into how we can reduce carbon emissions from transport in Brighton & Hove.”
Councillor Nancy Platts, co-chair of the Carbon Neutral 2030 working group, said: "I am so proud of climate assembly members for putting themselves forward and sharing their perspectives on how we can make an impact on reducing transport emissions.
"We are known as a city with an eye on sustainable practices, but we have to go further and I'm eager to see what recommendations have been suggested by the assembly.
"I'm sure many residents would like to see the presentations shown to the assembly members and I’m pleased to see the information discussed by the climate assembly is now on our website for everyone in the city to view and take inspiration from.”
More to come
The climate assembly’s recommendations will feed into the council’s work on transport throughout 2021.
A report is currently being produced with recommendations from the climate assembly, which is due to be presented to our Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee on 19 January, followed by Policy & Resources Committee on 21 January.
The recommendations will feed into the local transport plan and the local walking and cycling plan which will be consulted on next year, and the wider carbon-neutral programme plan due in spring 2021.
Photo credit: Ben James Photography
