Latest news with #MartinFodor
BBC News
29-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Bristol not expected to meet its own 2030 net zero target
Bristol City Council is not predicted to meet its target for the city to be carbon neutral by 2030, despite making faster progress towards net zero than other areas of the goal was set when the authority became the first in the country to declare a Climate Emergency in November 2018.A report to the council's Environment and Sustainability Policy Committee said that emissions from the city were on track to be half what they were two decades emissions per head have been lower than similar UK cities for almost 20 years, and had continued to reduce faster than the average. The report said people in more affluent areas had a higher consumption of carbon, because of travel habits, heating, and buying more goods and in Hartcliffe and Withywood produced on average 36% fewer emissions than those in Redland, for air pollution in the city came from cars, vans and gas the report said that increasing the use of green electricity would be "the most significant driver" of cutting carbon between now and 2030. After declaring a Climate Emergency, the council also committed to cutting its own emissions to net zero by this year, another goal that would not be "direct emissions" included those from council-owned buildings and vehicles. which were forecast to have been reduced by 88% between 2016 and 2025."This is well ahead of any other major UK local authority", the report Martin Fodor, Chair of the Environment and Sustainability committee, said the city's efforts were "bearing fruit" towards carbon neutrality, which he described as "one of the most ambitious and important endeavours we've ever set out to achieve".But he added, "whilst we can allow ourselves a moment to celebrate the positive progress made to date, we cannot linger long if we're to meet the national target set in law."UK law sets a date of 2050 for the whole of the UK to be carbon neutral.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hundreds of homes to get energy saving upgrades
Hundreds of low-income households are to get thousands of pounds in a bid to make them warmer and cheaper to heat. Bristol City Council has secured £13.5m of government funds to spend on about 300 to 350 homes which have poor energy efficiency ratings The grants can be spent on measures like solar panels, heat pumps, new double glazing and better insulation to reduce energy bills. Green Councillor Martin Fodor, said: "It's just disappointing that we didn't get as much as we were actually encouraged to bid for." More news stories for Bristol Watch the latest Points West Listen to the latest news for Bristol One out of seven Bristol households can not afford to keep their homes properly heated, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. The council applied for £51m of funding from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, but was only given a quarter of that. Around £20,000 will be spent on each property, which must have an Energy Performance Certificate within bands D to G. Money will also go towards retrofitting homes in North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset. Demand for grants is expected to exceed the cash available but the council has not decided on the selection criteria yet. Mr Fodor, chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee, said it was "really important to tackle fuel poverty" and help people save energy. "We have an excellent track record in Bristol and the work of City Leap to upgrade homes is important," he said. "It's just disappointing that we didn't get as much as we were actually encouraged to bid for." The works will be carried out by Bristol City Leap, a partnership between the council and American firm Ameresco, Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Quicker action needed on climate, says council expert City council to miss carbon neutral target Council in £3m bid for heat pumps to cut emissions Bristol City Council
BBC News
15-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Hundreds of Bristol homes to get energy saving upgrades
Hundreds of low-income households are to get thousands of pounds in a bid to make them warmer and cheaper to City Council has secured £13.5m of government funds to spend on about 300 to 350 homes which have poor energy efficiency ratingsThe grants can be spent on measures like solar panels, heat pumps, new double glazing and better insulation to reduce energy Councillor Martin Fodor, said: "It's just disappointing that we didn't get as much as we were actually encouraged to bid for." One out of seven Bristol households can not afford to keep their homes properly heated, according to the Local Democracy Reporting council applied for £51m of funding from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, but was only given a quarter of £20,000 will be spent on each property, which must have an Energy Performance Certificate within bands D to will also go towards retrofitting homes in North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset. Demand for grants is expected to exceed the cash available but the council has not decided on the selection criteria Fodor, chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee, said it was "really important to tackle fuel poverty" and help people save energy."We have an excellent track record in Bristol and the work of City Leap to upgrade homes is important," he said."It's just disappointing that we didn't get as much as we were actually encouraged to bid for."The works will be carried out by Bristol City Leap, a partnership between the council and American firm Ameresco,
Telegraph
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Green council ditches plan to collect black bins once a month
A Green Party council has ditched plans to collect residents' black bins in Bristol only once a month following a backlash. Bristol council launched a six-week consultation, which included the option of switching from bin collections every two weeks to monthly in order to save more than £2 million a year and boost recycling rates. Both Labour and the Conservatives had proposed motions calling on the council to rule out switching to four-weekly bin collections, and more than 12,000 people signed a petition opposing the plan. Benjamin Elks, the grassroots development manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'Bristolians are sick to the back teeth of their council's hare-brained schemes. 'Residents shouldn't have to put up with overflowing bins and filthy streets just because the council is more interested in virtue-signalling than doing its job.' Following the backlash, the Green Party administration announced it would not be supporting the move. Martin Fodor, a Green councillor who chairs the cross-party environment and sustainability committee, said: 'The four-weekly option was put in the consultation as an outlier for modelling purposes, and I made clear it was always unlikely to go ahead. 'And so based on what we've heard and the strength of feeling that this has generated across the city, the Greens will not be supporting any proposals put forward to move to four-weekly collections at this time. 'The full results of the consultation will be presented to a cross-party group to decide on any changes to our waste and recycling services. 'I would like to thank everyone who made the time to make their voice heard. The Greens aim to be as collaborative and transparent in our decision making as possible. 'While other parties consult on pre-made decisions, the views of Bristol will always be taken into account under this administration.' The city's recycling rate is at around 45 per cent, and the Green Party has previously pledged to increase it. Last year, the recycling collected earned the council £4.5 million in revenue, while disposing of it would have cost the city £8.3 million to process. Cllr James Crawford, who also sits on the environment and sustainability committee, said: 'There are many changes that we need to make as a city to improve our recycling rate. 'I look forward to seeing the full results of the consultation and working cross-party on what measures we can take to improve recycling for Bristol.' A number of authorities have switched to monthly collections, including Fife council and Conwy County borough council.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
City's four-weekly bins collections idea 'dropped'
Support has been dropped for a plan to make Bristol the first major city in England to collect black waste bins every four weeks. The Green Party, which runs Bristol City Council, put forward the controversial option - among others - in a public consultation in January to crackdown on food waste going in the wrong bins. The council previously said around a quarter of most black bin rubbish was food which could be recycled. Councillors will debate a cross-party petition on the issue on Tuesday. More news stories for Bristol Watch the latest Points West Listen to the latest news for Bristol The petition created by the council's Labour Party called for the proposed changes to be shelved and has been signed by more than 12,000 people. Currently, black bins in Bristol are collected every two weeks but a public consultation proposed a series of changes to improve falling recycling rates - including cutting collections to either three times per month or four. Many English local authorities already have three-week collections. Switching to a three-weekly black bin collection would save the council £1.3m a year, while a four-weekly collection would save £2.3m, the council had previously said. Councillor Martin Fodor, chair of the environment committee, said: "The four-weekly option was put in the consultation as an outlier for modelling purposes and I made clear it was always unlikely to go ahead. "Based on what we've heard and the strength of feeling that this has generated across the city, the Greens will not be supporting any proposals put forward to move to four-weekly collections at this time." Councillor Tom Renhard, Labour leader on the council, said: "It has been clear from the start that this policy is totally unworkable. "The Greens dropping it will be a relief to all, particularly those with larger families or newborns, who need fortnightly black bin collections." He added: "Waste and recycling collection is the one service that every council tax payer uses and relies upon; it needs to be protected from their cuts." The results of the public consultation, which ended on Monday, will be presented to a cross-party group of councillors who will decide on any changes at an unknown date. Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Bristol considers four-weekly bins collections Black bin collections 'may be cut to once a month' Bristol City Council
