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We are delighted to be able to share with you that we have recently appointed four new trustees and four new associate trustees to our board, strengthening our efforts to fight climate breakdown. Earlier this year we embarked on a recruitment campaign and were overwhelmed with both the quantity and quality of applicants. Our Chair, Tracey Hart said “We were inundated with applications from a wide diversity of brilliant candidates, illustrating the level of interest in and demand for action on climate breakdown. Candidates came from all walks of life but were united in their desire to protect Cumbria from [...]

In September we heard the news that the High Court had quashed the planning permission given to West Cumbria Mining Ltd (WCM) for what would have been the UK’s first new coal mine in 30 years in Whitehaven. Legal challenges by Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change won the day and were made possible by donations from thousands of concerned citizens and many hours of painstakingly detailed work by expert volunteers. Whilst we greeted the High Court decision with immense relief, many people in the communities that would be directly affected by the mine have [...]

Despite the rain pouring down yesterday at Basecamp North Lakes, the atmosphere at the launch of the CAfS Business Supporter Network was nothing short of upbeat. The afternoon began with a warm welcome and a meet and greet of the friendly alpacas from Alpacaly Ever After ! We were given a guided tour of the site, where we learned about Basecamp's sustainable practices before heading indoors to warm up, enjoy delicious cake and hear from businesses about why they came along to the launch. Each business had its own story to tell – from reducing their carbon footprint to ensuring [...]

Zero Carbon Cumbria has been supporting community projects to ‘do their bit’ to reduce greenhouse gas emissions since 2020, as part of the programme of activities supported through the National Lottery’s Climate Action Fund With one year left to go, this is the final allocation of Lottery money for community renewable energy projects, or any other community-based scheme looking to cut carbon emissions or raise awareness of the climate crisis. This is your chance to make a difference and support ZCC’s mission to achieve net zero by 2037. Up to £15,000 is available to help develop and deliver community renewable [...]

It has been a long time coming, but the deadline for education settings to have their sustainability actions in place is looming. The September deadline is a key initiative in the Government's sustainability and climate change strategy - and it states: “By 2025, all education settings will have nominated a sustainability lead and put in place a climate action plan. This includes early years settings, schools, multi-academy trusts, colleges, and universities." It is vital that this is put in place with a 'whole setting' approach - the buildings, curriculum, staff knowledge, pupil voice and decarbonisation all form part of the [...]

This is the second half of our blog exploring the new government’s key ‘green’ policies - and what they could mean for Cumbria.   Read part one here   Energy Efficiency  An extra £6.6bn in home energy efficiency improvements  This could be good news for Cumbria, where we have a lot of draughty, damp housing stock in dire need of upgrading. Carbon emissions from energy use in residential and commercial buildings in Cumbria are estimated to be around 1.5 MtCO2 equivalent and need to be reduced by more than 95% by 2037. [See the report here] Supporting home energy efficiency and [...]

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour party claimed their general election win with the slogan 'Change begins now' and with a promise to 'hit the ground' running' on key green policies. Four weeks into the new government we take a look at those key policies, and how they relate to Cumbria. Labour's manifesto included a key pledge to maintain the binding 2050 net-zero target, as well as launching 'Great British Energy' within months of coming to power - all potentially good news for moving towards a renewable energy economy. We have already seen change in this area with [...]