Philip Dunne MP today presented COP26 President, Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, with a community plan to address climate change.

Mr Dunne gave Mr Sharma a copy of South Shropshire Climate Action’s community plan – the first constituency-wide plan prepared by a committed community group with some practical ideas of what local communities can do to help get to Net Zero. The Report focusses on four areas: Land and Biodiversity, Energy and Buildings, Transport and Communities and Education. The group met Mr Dunne last month to discuss their report ahead of its formal launch at a well attended online webinar event on 22nd May.

As part of the build up to the UN climate conference in Glasgow in November, Mr Dunne is seeking to promote community group engagement at COP26, raising the issue with Ministers in the House of Commons this week.

Mr Dunne said:

“I was delighted to present the COP26 President with a copy of South Shropshire Climate Action’s Report. This is the first community based plan to cover a parliamentary constituency, and forms an excellent template of initiatives, most of which I support, for other areas to follow in the run up to COP26, to encourage as many people as possible to become engaged with tackling climate change. I hope it will provide some ideas for promoting community engagement for the President.”

Jane Cullen, Chair of South Shropshire Climate Action, said:

“We are very pleased that our MP has personally presented our report to the President of COP26. We cannot achieve our aim without committed support and finance from central government and Shropshire Council but we have laid out approaches and strategies that would begin to address biodiversity loss while delivering Net Zero by 2030, this vital decade.  The Plan reflects very deep levels of concern, especially leading up to COP26."