The Net-Zero Task Force would like to hear what people and organisations think should be done to help reduce the carbon emissions in Devon.

The link to the form is at the bottom of this page. There is some guidance as well to help you make your submission.

Everyone is invited to submit suggestions, ideas and evidence for proposals that help to reduce carbon emissions in Devon and contribute to the Devon Carbon Plan. This is a key opportunity for you or your organisation to input to the process to develop the Devon Carbon Plan.

Evidence can be submitted through to Friday 31 January 2020. The gathering of data and evidence will be complemented by a series of four thematic hearings, which have now taken place, during November and December 2019. Rest assured though, your ideas and suggestions submitted after the hearings, and until Friday 31 January 2020, are still very welcome and will be considered by the Task Force.

Themes

Submissions can be made covering any subject area. However, the task force has identified four key themes which have formed the focus for the hearings. These are:

1. Food, land and sea (agriculture, forestry, fisheries and land use)
2. Mobility (transport – air, land and sea)
3. The built environment (energy efficiency, lighting, heating and cooling needs, construction)
4. Energy and waste (heat and electricity generation, storage and supply)

Across these sector-based themes, we will be considering cross-cutting themes around spatial planning, education, behaviour change, public acceptability, finance and health.

The outcome of each hearing will be a greater understanding of the policies and practical actions that need to happen to achieve swift decarbonisation across Devon, and how they could be delivered.

Examples

If you are unsure how to structure your idea or suggestion, we have included a few examples that might help you – but there is no right or wrong approach. If you feel strongly that you have a suggestion that will help to lower carbon emissions, please just tell us what information you have.

Example 1

An example submission in the ‘food, land and sea’ theme could cover:

• changes in agricultural practices which increase the carbon sequestered in the soil
• obstacles include current economic and time stresses on farmers
• solutions might include rural community engagement (by communities and non-governmental organisations), structures for mutual support and education among farmers (farm support organisations), diffusion of examples of best practice including on Devon County Council tenant farms and other estates, and financial incentives for increasing fertility and soil carbon (national policy).

Example 2

An example of a cross-cutting issue could be:

• that commissioning and procurement for institutions should be carried out within a ‘value framework’ which includes carbon reduction and biodiversity among those values given weight within the tendering process.

Example 3

An example of submission in the ‘mobility theme’ could include:

• Increasing access to electric charging points in rural areas.
• A current barrier is lack of available charging points in terms of both numbers and locations.
• These barriers could be overcome by installing charging points in ‘public’ spaces such as school/supermarket/church/village hall car parks. Location of points chosen could help direct social and economic activity, for example, the contrast of investment in locations such as out of town supermarkets and existing petrol stations compared to community centres such as schools.
• A priority action would be investing in school charging points. Funding and planning policies should be managed at a district level in coordination with education and planning authorities
• Ideally, installation should be carried out by local trades and construction firms and so simultaneous training should be provided at a subsidised rate.

Guidance

You do not need to complete all the questions in the survey and your evidence will be considered whether all the questions are completed or just some of them.

Additional evidence in the form of documents or pictures can be uploaded as part of the process.

Please note, this call for evidence is not asking for evidence that climate change is happening. We are looking for ideas and evidence on how we can reduce carbon in Devon as quickly as possible; what are the challenges and what are the opportunities.

Call for evidence: start now >>>

The Devon Climate Emergency has committed to establishing a Citizens’ Assembly to enable views of the general public to play an important role in the production of the Devon Carbon Plan.

The assembly will have the opportunity to develop informed opinions and collectively discuss and review policy recommendations on decarbonising Devon. The assembly will comprise a representative sample of Devon’s citizens who will be paid for their involvement.